A vision for QatarDear Sir,Qatar is import-dependent for many consumer goods. This means that prices of those goods in Qatar are comparatively higher than in many other parts of the world. As a business graduate, I feel that Qatar should make an initiative to end this over-dependence on imports and instead become a country that manufactures most of the products it now buys from outside. The government should expand the country’s industrial base by establishing industrial parks that will eventually grow to become industrial cities. This will provide an alternative source of revenue for Qatar. The government must woo multinational investors and businessmen to join the initiative. Most expatriates in Qatar are now manual workers and office staff instead of businesspeople. I think Qatar from now on should try to attract more business talent for its economy to flourish. Such industrial parks, while meeting the local demand for various goods, should export their surplus produce. Qatar is rich in natural resources and this will help in its industrial drive.With a strong industrial base, the services sector will also witness major strides, opening up vast job opportunities. This will benefit every stakeholder, from the largest to the smallest. Qatar’s foreign trade will grow manifold and with that its international standing will also rise.Muhammad Murtaza, mmt263@yahoo.comMeaningless warningsDear Sir,The report “White House warns Netanyahu” (Gulf Times, March 24) did tickle my sense of humour. Everyone knows that any White House statement against Israel is just a “mock exercise” and nothing is going to happen, or more correctly, the United States will not allow anything to happen that is against Israel’s interest.The White House had issued numerous warnings to Tel Aviv in the past and the international community knows their outcome. We also know that the Palestinians have been the historical, traditional and ancestral people of the Palestine land and the so-called state of Israel was created in 1948 by a political conspiracy linked to the expression of gratitude related to the funding for World War II.Since then, Israelis have been on the path of confrontation against their defenceless neighbours with the open intention of land grab and by their brutal and hostile aggression, the real inhabitants of the Palestinian soil have been driven out. Hundreds of thousands of innocent Palestinian people have been killed in numerous Israeli military campaigns over the years. A number of war crimes have been committed by Israelis and a series of UN resolutions have been passed in the world body, seeking action against the Jewish state. What has happened? American vetoes have always solidly protected Israel.Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is well aware of the insincerity of the late US statement and the political intentions behind it too. K K Nazimudeen, PO Box No 441, DohaPlease send us your letters By e-mail: editor@gulf-times.com