H.E. the premier and foreign minister stressed that such positive growth results would be reflected on various human, social, economic and environmental sides. He pointed out to the huge volume of the current budget, saying this budget reflects the government's desire to continue taking the path of comprehensive and sustainable development. H.E. Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim bin Jabor al Thani went on to say : We took into consideration the importance of completing the necessary infrastructure projects, besides allocating the necessary amounts to accomplish a range of economic and social projects.

H.E. the premier and foreign minister highlighted the government's efforts in the fields of expanding the domestic economic capabilities in a way that would upgrade the economy's growth with a view to working towards tackling the inflation's causes as well as alleviating its economic and social impacts. H.E. the premier and foreign minister spoke about the inflation phenomenon, its causes and ways to tackle them, saying that its a joint duty and that the challenge now was to create the appropriate balance between the expenditure and investment on development projects. Our common goal was to work towards decreasing rates of inflation, H.E the premier and foreign minister added.

H.E the premier and foreign minister underlined the significance of the partnership between the public and private sectors, which H.E. said had achieved a number of developmental and economic achievements. H.E. the premier highlighted the government's efforts in boosting the private sector potentials in order to enable it to promote its activities and to establish small and medium scales industries, through provision of the favorable atmosphere for investment and provision of the modern and developed infrastructure, and easy financing sources as well as developing supportive services sector

Speaking at the meeting with the Qatari businessmen, Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim said that. “Contractors can now work without having any fears about any price rise in construction materials, namely steel, cement, sand and aggregate stones,” he said.“Any future price rise of such materials in the global market will be borne by the state during the three-year freeze.”

Asked about the possibility of Qatar revaluing its currency or de-pegging it from the dollar, Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim dismissed speculations of either of these steps as “untrue”.
“We have no short-term or mid-term plans for the revaluation of the riyal or de-pegging it from the dollar. Those who think of selling the dollar and buying riyal to capitalize on the difference of the exchange rates are wrong. They will just lose the commission charged by the banks,” he said.

The premier warned local traders and businessmen not to use inflation as a pretext to increase the prices, saying that the state may enter the market of the food items as a competitor for them if the surge in food prices continued.  “I hope that businessmen consider the interest of consumers. A big part of the inflation is attributed to practices of traders increasing prices for bigger profits. They should have a sense of responsibility.”

About the performance of the private sector in Qatar, he said it was lacking initiative and had to develop itself.  So far, Qatari businessmen have not come up with any creative plans to develop their businesses. They either seek business opportunities with the government or trade in shares. This is the work of lazy people. You need to be more creative.

“Earlier this year we announced that the government is ready to give 80%-financing of projects related to chicken and livestock farming but the response from businessmen was poor. The local market will soon be more competitive and those who are ready for it will survive.”

He urged Qatari businessmen to rise to the challenges and develop themselves so that they could compete in global markets. Answering a question on the fears of a food crisis, which has hit the global market, he said that Qatar had sufficient stocks and had nothing to fear.

Addressing the gathering, HE the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Agriculture Sheikh Abdul Rahman bin Khalifa al-Thani said that Qatar would soon enter into partnership with several Arab and foreign countries on food security. “By the end of this year, the local egg company will increase its annual capacity to 20mn eggs,” he added.

On complaints about the Qatar Financial Centre (QFC), he said that QFC would be replaced by another regulatory authority which, he said, would cover the whole country. “The QFC will be integrated into the national economy.”

He announced that the country would extend the subsidy to diesel for one more year. “Though it cost us QR1.4bn annually to subsidize it, we will continue this for a year because it is very significant in many industries,” he added.

On the problem of laborers staying in residential areas, HE the Minister of Energy and Industrial Affairs Mohamed Saleh al-Sada revealed that there was a project which would accommodate 60,000 workers in the Doha Industrial Area.

To a question on a recent decision banning issuing visa for businessmen before the elapse of a three-month period of their last visit, HE the Minister of State for Interior Affairs Sheikh Abdullah bin Nasser al-Thani said that his ministry had detected many violations of business visas where people used it for different purposes.

Among those who attended the meeting were HE the Minister of Finance and Acting Minister of Economy and Commerce Yousuf Hussein Kamal, HE the Minister of State for Interior Affairs Sheikh Abdullah bin Nasser al-Thani, and Sheikh Faisal bin Qassim al-Thani, who is the head of the Qatari Businessmen Association