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Qatar Capable of Overcoming Siege Challenges

Qatar Capable of Overcoming Siege Challenges
Qatar Capable of Overcoming Siege Challenges

Qatar affirmed its ability to overcome the challenges of the blockade and to continue the development process towards achieving the goals of the global sustainable development agenda 2030.

This came during the second national voluntary review of the state of Qatar, presented by minister of development planning and statistics, Saleh bin Mohammed al-Nabit, during the high-level political forum on sustainable development, QNA reported.

The minister said that the economy is strong and cohesive and capable of overcoming the challenges of the blockade it is facing. He pointed out that the economic growth rate reached about 1.6% in 2017.

Qatar’s GDP per capita is the highest in the world, reaching $127,000 a year in 2017. Qatar is also the top Arab country in the 2016 Human Development Index of the United Nations Development Program.

The minister said that life expectancy at birth was 78 years, and the infant mortality rate was about seven per thousand. He also indicated that the literacy rate for adults rose to 97.8% and the rate of tertiary enrolment increased to 16% in 2017.

The rate of participation in the workforce for the age group 15 years and above was 84.6%, while the unemployment rate among young people was 0.8% in 2017, he added. Qatar ranked 14th on the World Competitiveness Ranking of the International Institute for Management Development for 2018.

Qatar is the top Arab country in the global peace index for the past years since 2009, the minister said, adding that it ranks 29th in the Index of Economic Freedom and 49th in the Global Innovation Index.

He stressed that Qatar believes, as Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani said, that development and stability were interdependent, and that development cannot be sustained without good governance, rule of law, fighting corruption, achieving social justice, equality and avoiding the marginalization of any group.

He stressed that Qatar will continue its development path relying on science, its national strategy and population policy and the goals of the Global Sustainable Development Agenda 2030, which have been integrated into the national development strategy sectors 2018-2022.

Meanwhile, Qatar is set to present its case against the United Arab Emirates in front of the International Court of Justice in The Hague, over a now year-long blockade against the Persian Gulf nation.  

The UAE, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Egypt imposed an economic and air blockade against Qatar in June 2017, which Doha argues violates the human rights of Qatari citizens.

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