The unjustified blockade on Qatar by a quartet of nations, imposed some three years ago, has clearly failed to stifle Qatar’s economy, impede its development or isolate it internationally, points out prominent Qatari oil strategist Saad al-Kuwari.

“In fact, Qatar, after less than three years following the blockade imposed by the quartet, succeeded in achieving self-sufficiency in terms of its food needs by more than 80%,” al-Kuwari said in an interview with Gulf Times.

The storage capacities have also been expanded for food security and logistical supply to ensure the flow of commodities at reasonable prices.

This is in addition to pumping liquidity into the financial sector to compensate for the exit of capital (mostly related to the blockading countries) and enhance currency and overall financial stability, he said.

“Moreover, Qatar succeeded to cope with the challenges arising out the crisis situation and managed its hydrocarbons exports and imports without impacting its clients…such as exporting crude, gas and petrochemicals and importing marine oil and asphalt to complete its infrastructure,” al-Kuwari noted.

With regard to the financial sector, he said several parties contributed to alleviating the consequences of the blockade and the fears of withdrawing foreign investments in Qatari projects and banks, which could have led to an economic collapse.

This prompted the Qatar Central Bank and other governmental financial bodies to pump more than $38bn within weeks of the state’s estimated reserves of about $340bn.

He said steps were taken to relieve pressure on the local currency exchange rate against foreign currencies, even as various international reports and economic analysts indicated that the Qatari economy was able to “absorb the initial as well as ongoing shocks of the blockade at an unexpected” speed, ensuring economic recovery to a large extent.

According to al-Kuwari, organising the FIFA World Cup 2022 is perhaps the biggest challenge facing Qatar in terms of infrastructure for the championship, whether building stadiums, hotels or other projects such as the Doha Metro, and expanding the capacity of airports and ports to fulfill the country’s needs for goods and products imports.

As the blockade continues, he said Qatar unveiled its second National Development Plan, focusing on building human and institutional capacities, developing a system that supports entrepreneurship and promotes research and development. The plan comes in the context of efforts aimed at achieving sustainable development and accelerating progress and innovation.

Al-Kuwari noted that after three years of blockade, Qatar emerged stronger and united.

“I have a personal experience to narrate here in this context. After the siege, I have been running a recruitment and outsourcing company called Management Solution International - MSI.

“We succeeded in a very short time, coordinating with government companies and providing recruitment facilities along with outsourcing to hire engineers, technicians, doctors, nurses and clerks.

“In addition, we provide engineering and management studies and training as a Qatari consultancy company at very competitive prices and better quality of work instead of engaging companies based in the siege countries.”

Al-Kuwari said, “Finally, I strongly believe that Qatar prospers in spite of blockade by its Gulf neighbours. The aim of the Qatar National Vision 2030 is to ‘transform Qatar into an advanced society capable of achieving sustainable development’ by 2030. With God’s blessings we are well on track to realise it.”