HE the Chairman of the Planning and Statistics Authority Dr Saleh bin Mohamed al-Nabit has said that the National Day this year has a special meaning and character, considering of the circumstances experienced by the country and coming as it does against the backdrop of the political and economic turmoil hitting the region. This day is an opportunity for the Qatari people to express their solidarity and support for their wise leadership, he said.
On Qatar National Day, Dr al-Nabit extended the greetings and congratulations to His Highness the Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani, His Highness the Father Amir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani and to all the Qatari people, wishing the wise leadership continuous progress, excellence and success for the good of the State of Qatar.
He added in a statement to Qatar News Agency (QNA) on the occasion, that the National Day represents an important historical day for every citizen, being an opportunity to celebrate the anniversary of founding the state more than a hundred years ago, and to complement the development process to which the founders have contributed by setting the priorities.
He pointed out that this occasion is a bright spot in the history of the country and a memory for generations to strengthen national cohesion and emphasise unity, and social solidarity and the rejection of all kinds of discrimination. 
It is also an opportunity to reaffirm the continuation of national development plans and strategies to achieve the Qatar National Vision 2030 and its goals, he said adding: “This is not merely a day of joy but a day of renewed determination to continue on the road to prosperity, progress in all fields and adherence to sovereignty and established national principles”.
Dr al-Nabit pointed to the achievements and renaissance witnessed in Qatar, and said that the Amir continued to accomplish envisioning a promising future and a new era of prosperity for the homeland and the citizens.
He added that Qatar has witnessed a qualitative leap on all levels of the establishment of the economic, education and health infrastructure, achieving a major transformation, especially in the economic sector through upgrading the oil and gas industry and by raising the productivity of the hydrocarbon sector and implementing multiple partnerships and agreements with foreign oil companies, to become a cornerstone of the national economy.
He stressed that Qatar has succeeded in addressing the siege and transformed it from challenge to opportunity, and increased confidence in the national economy, adding that “the siege crisis is not the first to face the people of Qatar, but it has a special nature and circumstances. Qatar will continue its march, become stronger, benefit from its experiences and adapt to its reality more effectively thanks to its wise leadership”.
Dr al-Nabit pointed out that the siege speeded up the pace of the completion of business and economic plans in Qatar, and the strategies became clearer and flexible to increase the effectiveness and efficiency of performance. After imposition of the siege,  Qatar has witnessed wide regional and global openness, and expanded its relations with many friendly and sisterly countries.
He pointed out that the second national development strategy supports the country’s economic and social development, institutional maturity, the private sector, the creation of appropriate environment to attract foreign investments in the coming years and encouraging investment in sectors that accelerate the transition towards the knowledge-based economy.
Dr al-Nabit expected the coming years to witness the completion of high-level physical and informational infrastructure in Qatar, as well as the economic infrastructure, especially the major  projects, and the development of the plant, animal and fish production system to promote self-sufficiency. Electricity will be produced from a variety of traditional and renewable sources, in addition to seeking to achieve added value to the petrochemical industry.
He looked forward to the completion of the restructuring of the public sector, e-government projects, the service sector, increasing efficiency of financial management, enhancing economic stability, rationalisation of expenditure, the promotion of an integrated model for the provision of high-quality healthcare services, focus on enhancing the quality of education, raising enrolment and graduation rates for citizens in academic programmes related to the knowledge economy.
Dr al-Nabit pointed out that the country will continue its efforts to develop social welfare systems and legislation, focus on empowering and raising the productivity of all sectors of Qatari society, providing security and public safety, achieving cultural enrichment and sports excellence by nurturing distinctive national cultural and sporting talents.
He stressed the importance of paying attention to international co-operation and promoting global partnerships for development, as well as preserving the environment through improving the quality of air and coastal waters, recycling waste and reducing the effects of climate change.
Dr al-Nabit affirmed the Planning and Statistics Authority’s continuation of its role in supporting the implementation of the future visions of the State and participating in the development and follow-up of the national strategies of Qatar and overseeing their implementation in co-ordination and co-operation with the competent authorities in addition to the development of the national statistical system, the preparation of official statistics that meet the needs of its users and support decision makers with the necessary data for the development of plans and policies. 
During the year 2017-2018, the Planning and Statistics Authority made several achievements, the most important being the follow-up of the implementation of Qatar’s National Development Strategy 2011-2016. The system works to follow up the executive plans of government agencies, evaluate the implementation, monitor the objective and institutional challenges and report on the follow-up results to the competent authorities.
It launched the second national development strategy for Qatar 2018-2022 in March 2018. It also worked on building and developing strategic planning capacities in ministries and government agencies, in accordance with the results-based strategic planning guide. The Planning and Statistics Authority held a training workshop on the strategy within a series of relevant training workshops.
The Planning and Statistics Authority also issued the first report on the classification and ranking of Qatar in international indices in November 2017, the second report on the classification and ranking of Qatar in international indices in February 2018, and the third report in July 2018 to follow up and analyse the performance and the extent to which the quarterly changes can be linked to the ranking of Qatar in these indicators.
The Authority also formed the National Advisory Committee for Qatar’s fifth Human Development Report, which held its first meeting in March 2018. In addition, it held the first national seminar on Qatar’s fifth National Human Development Report in March 2018 in the presence of representatives and experts from the authorities concerned.
About the Sustainable Development Agenda 2030, the Authority finalised the initial assessment of the statistical system, which includes the exploration of national priorities for the transformation and updating of official statistics for strategic areas, the identification of key national comparison procedures and criteria and the development of a framework for progress in implementation. Meanwhile, the Authority completed the preparation of the first voluntary national report on the implementation of the Global Sustainable Development Agenda 2015-2030.
It participated in the High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development 2018, held at United Nations Headquarters in New York from 15 to 19 July 2018. 
The Planning and Statistics Authority presented the second voluntary national review of Qatar and issued a report on the alignment of the objectives of Qatar’s National Development Strategy 2018-2022 with the sustainable development goals. It also formed an internal team to update corporate information through a field team and issued the 2018 Competitive Yearbook, in which Qatar ranked 14th out of 63 countries.
On the Authority’s achievements in the statistics sector, Dr al-Nabit said it has completed the preparatory work for the General Population, Housing and Establishment Census (2020), which is the first of its kind in Qatar, based mainly on administrative records, in addition to the establishment of an interactive platform for national and international sustainable development indicators in co-ordination with the authorities in the State to update and develop the database in line with the requirements of the national development strategy and international and regional organisations.
The Authority publishes statistical reports and statistical bulletins in the Statistical Calendar of the Authority on its website so that the public and users of statistical data in Qatar and abroad can view them immediately after their issuance. Among the most important of these publications are annual statistical bulletins and the monthly and quarterly publications.
One of the most important achievements of the Permanent Population Committee was the publication of the Population Policy Document on the country’s population day, which was observed in October 2017, with the completion of the work programme for the first phase (November 2017- October 2018) of the population policy work programme.