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His Excellency the Minister of Finance Ali bin Ahmed al-Kuwari revealed Wednesday key features of the State of Qatar's General Budget for the year 2026, including sectoral expenditure distribution, government contracting plans, and the financing of the Third National Development Strategy.During the press conference, held on the occasion of the announcement of the 2026 State Budget on Tuesday, he presented a comprehensive overview of the expected economic indicators for the current year 2025, along with several initiatives by the Ministry of Finance to empower and engage the Qatari private sector.HE the Minister of Finance affirmed that the new budget represents a continuation of the balanced fiscal approach adopted by the State, aiming to achieve financial sustainability, enhance economic growth, improve public spending efficiency, and provide an investment-friendly environment, in line with Qatar National Vision 2030.HE al-Kuwari stated that the total expenditure for the 2026 budget amounts to QR220.8bn, distributed as follows: QR69.5bn allocated for salaries and wages, QR81.5bn for current expenditures, QR7bn for minor capital expenditures, and QR62.8bn for major capital expenditures.In his review of the main sector allocations in the new budget, he noted that the education sector is allocated QR21.8bn, while the health sector receives QR25.4bn, up from QR22bn in 2025. This reflects the state's continued commitment to developing human capital and improving the quality of public services.He explained that the municipality and environment sector is allocated QR22.2bn, the sports sector QR7.6bn, commercial affairs QR4.1bn, transportation QR4.1bn, communications QR3.8bn, and social services QR2.8bn, reflecting a balanced distribution of spending across vital sectors.HE the Minister of Finance pointed out that the total expected revenues for the 2026 fiscal year amount to QR199bn (QR155bn from oil and gas revenues, and QR44bn from non-oil revenues), compared to total revenues of QR197bn in 2025 (QR154bn from oil revenues and QR43bn from non-oil revenues).This reflects an improvement in oil revenues and continued growth in non-oil revenues, attributed to the state's continued conservative approach in estimating oil and gas revenues, based on an average oil price of $55 per barrel, to enhance financial flexibility and ensure spending stability.Regarding the government contracting plan for 2026, His Excellency highlighted key sectors, noting that the Public Works Authority (Ashghal) plans to issue tenders worth QR49bn, the Ministry of Public Health QR2.6bn, the Qatar General Electricity and Water Corp (Kahramaa) QR7.2bn, and the Ministry of Education and Higher Education QR2.3bn.He explained that the total number of tenders offered to the private sector amounts to approximately 4,464 tenders with an estimated value exceeding QR70bn, as part of the 2026 Government Procurement Plan Forum, reflecting the state's direction toward enhancing public-private partnerships.In this context, His Excellency referred to several initiatives by the Ministry of Finance to empower and engage the private sector, including a review of the state's infrastructure projects for the next five years to assess their feasibility for private sector implementation, and transferring suitable projects to the relevant committee at the Ministry of Commerce and Industry.Work is also underway to issue a mandatory list of national products that government entities must purchase, giving priority to national products in government procurement.The first phase is expected to include more than 1,000 national products. At the same time, the ministry aims for an annual growth rate of no less than 10% in the value of local content in government procurement, with the actual annual growth rate exceeding the target, resulting in a national economic impact of QR9bn during 2025.While reviewing the initiatives and projects of the Third National Development Strategy for the period 2024-2030, His Excellency revealed an allocation of approximately QR32.7bn for its implementation.He explained that the strategy is based on seven national strategic outcomes, including sustainable economic growth (QR10.8bn), outstanding government institutions (QR3.1bn), environmental sustainability (QR0.9bn), financial sustainability (QR1.3bn), a future-ready workforce (QR0.9bn), a cohesive society (QR0.6bn), and high quality of life (QR4bn).HE al-Kuwari confirmed that Qatar's credit rating is among the best in the region and the world, reflecting confidence in the Qatari economy.He noted that fiscal discipline is one of the main pillars of the country's high credit rating, in addition to the continued enhancement of human resource efficiency, strengthening of financial reserves, expenditure control, and sound strategic planning to deal with crises.In his remarks on key economic indicators for the current year, HE the Minister of Finance stated that the GDP growth rate is expected to reach 2.9% according to IMF estimates, with non-hydrocarbon GDP growing by 4.4% and hydrocarbon GDP by 0.1%.He explained that the annual inflation rate for the year through last October is expected to be 0.7%, one of the lowest rates in the region, with expectations that inflation will remain low in the medium term.He also noted that Qatar received 4.4mn tourists by the end of November. 

Anchoring its agenda on the implementation of the Third National Development Strategy and the long-term goals of the Qatar National Vision 2030, the Cabinet Wednesday reaffirmed its commitment to accelerating efforts across all sectors under the leadership of His Highness the Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani.HE Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim al-Thani chaired the Cabinet’s regular session at the Amiri Diwan, where he urged ministers to double down on performance in the coming period to meet the objectives set out in the national strategy and vision.Following the meeting, HE Minister of Justice and Minister of State for Cabinet Affairs Ibrahim bin Ali al-Mohannadi stated the following:At the outset of the meeting, HE Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs welcomed Their Excellencies the ministers on the resumption of the Cabinet sessions following the summer break.The Cabinet reviewed the completion of preparations for the 2025-2026 academic year, which will mark the opening of new schools, further development of curricula, and the strengthening of the requirements and foundations of the educational process.As such, the Cabinet hoped that a terrific academic year would abound with successes and achievements in terms of a wholesome educational environment, through which the goals of the Third National Development Strategy and Qatar National Vision 2030 will be accomplished in the areas of education.The Cabinet considered the items on the agenda and approved a draft decision issued by the Minister of Commerce and Industry to promulgate the executive regulations of Law No. (8) of 2020 on the Regulation of the Auditing Profession.This draft decision is prepared in implementation of Article (55) of Law No. (8) of 2020 and reflects the Ministry's commitment to ensuring that legislative tools keep pace with developments in the field of auditing.The Cabinet also decided to take the necessary measures to ratify the charter establishing the World Water Council.In addition, it decided to approve the draft technical cooperation agreement between Qatar’s Supreme Judicial Council and the United Nations, represented by the United Nations Regional Institute for Crime and Justice Research, and the draft memorandum of understanding on cooperation in the field of public prosecution between the Public Prosecution of the State of Qatar and the Public Prosecution of the Republic of Albania.Furthermore, the Cabinet decided to approve the draft executive programme of the memorandum of understanding between the governments of Qatar and Oman in the agricultural, animal, and fisheries fields for 2025-2027.Finally, the Cabinet wrapped up its meeting by examining four reports and taking the appropriate decisions accordingly, which included the first semi-annual report for 2025 on the budget allocated for cybersecurity projects in government entities, the first report on the activities of the National Ports Security Committee, a report on the outcomes of the participation of HE Minister of Social Development and Family in the 44th session of the Arab Women's Committee, the regional preparatory meeting for the 69th session of the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women (CSW), and a report on the outcomes of the participation of HE Minister of Municipality in the 28th meeting of the Ministers of Municipal Affairs of the Gulf Co-operation Council countries.