Tribune News Network
Doha
Minister of Finance HE Ali bin Ahmed Al Kuwari has confirmed that Qatar recorded a surplus QR19 billion in the state’s general budget in the first quarter of 2023.
In an interview with Bloomberg TV on the sidelines of the Qatar Economic Forum, the Minister of Finance said, “We just announced our first quarter fiscal numbers. We have a surplus of QR19 billion. This surplus is used to pay public debt, support the reserves of the Qatar Central Bank, and strengthen the assets of the Qatar Investment Authority.”
The Minister of Finance said that the non-oil, non-hydrocarbon sector grew by 6.7 percent, while the oil sector grew by 1.5 percnet this year.
He added that the Qatari economy has grown by 4.8 percentover the past year, on an annual basis, while the GDP growth rate reached 32 percent
He added that international forecasts this year by the World Bank indicate a lower growth rate of 3.3%, but it is very good at the same time, in light of the economic conditions the world is going through. Non-oil sector drives the Qatari economy forward. Therefore, Qatar is not interested in the movement of the global oil price, he noted.
