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Qatar says QIA gets budget surplus to invest for diversification

By Pramod Kumar
Reuters/Naseem Zeitoon
Bahrain's GDP grew by 4.9 percent in 2022, the fastest rate since 2013

Qatar has transferred its budget surplus to Qatar Investment Authority for investment as part of its diversification programme, finance minister Ali Al Kuwari told CNN’s Richard Quest at the World Economic Forum at Davos.

“We have a very clear and very disciplined fiscal policy framework. This is already approved by the government. And this is deciding how we deal with surpluses,” he stated.

In December 2022, the finance ministry announced that Qatar posted a budget surplus of QR30 billion ($8.2 billion) in the third quarter of 2022.

Revenues for the quarter ended September 30, 2022, stood at QR81.8 billion and 93 percent of the total – QR76.3 billion – came from oil and gas, the state-run Qatar News Agency reported. Non-oil revenues reached QR5.5 billion.

When asked what Qatar was planning post-World Cup, the minister said the infrastructure is for the future of the country and its Vision 2030 diversification programme.

“World Cup is only one month, and nobody would do a huge investment or prepare only for one month,” Al Kuwari said.

“So what we have been doing with the investment, we have been doing infrastructure and the setup there it’s for Qatar. It’s for the future of Qatar. And it is about our diversification journey,” he stated.

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