Qatar’s high-level delegation participating in World Economic Forum reviewed steps taken by the country in the areas of entrepreneurship establishment and competitiveness improvement, during the 45th session which ended in the Swiss city of Davos yesterday.
The delegation comprising the Minister of Finance H E Ali Sherif Al Emadi, the Minister of Economy and Commerce
H E Sheikh Ahmed bin Jassim Al Thani, the Governor of Qatar Central Bank Sheikh Abdullah bin Saoud Al Thani and the CEO of Qatar Investment Authority Sheikh Abdullah bin Mohamed bin Saud Al Thani, reviewed with Professor Klaus Schwab, Executive Chairman of the forum, the importance of the forum and challenges facing the global and Arab economies.
He stressed the significance of Qatar’s regular participation in the forum, especially after the remarkable growth of the Qatari economy hailed by the forum’s competitiveness report which highlighted the country’s balanced performance and the efficiency of the goods and services market.
The forum, which lasted four days, is the biggest global economic conference, attended by a large number of heads of states and governments from across the world, decision makers from the public and private sectors, academics and representatives of civil society.
The session under the theme ‘The New Global Context’ was attended by over 300 heads of states and governments and ministers, in addition to more than 2,500 senior economists from more than 140 countries, officials and experts from international and civil society organizations, academics and experts.
The forum discussed political, economic, social and technological changes worldwide.
It is an important platform to discuss global concerns and problems and is a significant reference for economic reports.
Qatar has assumed a prominent place in the reports issued by the forum and ranked high in the competitiveness report which is one of the most important issued by the forum. Qatar ranked 16th among 144 participating states last year.
The Global Competitiveness Report 2014-2015 assesses the competitiveness landscape of 144 economies, providing insight into the drivers of productivity and prosperity.
It is the most comprehensive assessment of national competitiveness worldwide, providing a platform for dialogue between government, business and civil society on actions to improve economic prosperity.
Competitiveness is defined as a set of institutions, policies and factors that determine the level of productivity of a country. The level of productivity sets the level of prosperity that can be earned by an economy.
The forum also publishes the Global Enabling Trade Report every two years, which assesses the quality of institutions, policies and services facilitating the free flow of goods over borders and their destinations.
At the core of the report, the Enabling Trade Index benchmarks the performance of 138 economies in four critical areas: market access; border administration; transport and communications infrastructure; and regulatory and business environment.
The report helps economies integrate global value chains and companies into their investment decisions. It informs policy dialogue and provides a tool to monitor progress in certain aspects of global trade.
In the 2014 Global Enabling Trade Report, access to markets was divided for the first time into two parts — domestic and foreign markets — and highlighted the positive aspect of Qatar — facilitation of the entry of goods into its markets thus fulfilling its commitment to World Trade Organisation.
The report praised the quality and availability of transport infrastructure which rose 10 positions because of the availability of adequate transport services and Qatar’s infrastructure projects under implementation.
QNA
26 January
