Qatar’s “fair and equitable” vaccination drive has instilled confidence in the domestic economy where businesses are going to boom in the next five to seven years, supported by umpteen mammoth projects, according to a business forum of the expatriates.
"The global evidence, as of date, states that access to the vaccine is uneven in many countries, but Qatar stands tall in having the vaccination campaign done in a professional manner including the drive through for the second dose, which has eased the hassle for the entire community, bringing the optimism back to the market," Kerala Business Forum president KR Jayaraj said.
His remarks came in response to HE the Prime Minister and Minister of Interior Sheikh Khalid bin Khalifa bin Abdulaziz al-Thani's interview to the editors-in-chief of the newspapers in the country where he underscored the efforts of the government on various fronts.
Terming the vaccination drive of Qatar, which has already seen a vast majority of the population to have been inoculated at least once, as a brave move; Jayaraj said it not only ensured fair and equitable access but also enhanced confidence of both nationals and expatriates.
Finding that more professions are being included in the target group for the Covid-19 vaccination; he said "this is a real boost for private sector and improves the confidence."
Jayaraj said Qatar's economy is even otherwise showing signs of recovery, which is evidenced from the various projects announced. Qatar's purchasing managers' index is consistently improving, indicating the buoyancy in the private sector, especially in the non-hydrocarbon sector.
"While rest of the world remains uncertain regarding the speed of the economic recovery from the Covid-19, Qatar has shown firm signs of growth. Obviously the air is filled with lot of fresh hopes in the market," he said.
In this regard, Jayaraj, who is also the regional manager of Techno Steel Trading and Contracting, pointed out Qatar's North Field Expansion project through which the country seeks to increase the liquefied natural gas production from 77mn to 110mn tonnes per annum (MTPA) and the second phase, the North Field South (NFS) Project, will further increase Qatar’s LNG production capacity to 126 MTPA by 2027.
"The world is looking towards Qatar, it’s going to be a real boom in business in the post Covid-19 situation in Qatar," he said.
On the labour reforms in the country, KBF is of the view that it would set up new standards that would ultimately help investors and employees on an "equal basis".
Appreciative of the government's E-initiatives; Jayaraj said it has made the documentations easy and transparent, thus having a bearing on the savings.
 
 
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