Lisbon links

HH the Emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani being welcomed by Portuguese Prime Minister Jose Socrates upon his arrival at Sao Bento Palace in Lisbon yesterday.

They attended the signing of a joint statement to establish diplomatic relations between the two countries, an agreement to encourage and protect mutual investments, and a memorandum of understanding between Qatar Olympic Committee and the Olympic Committee of Portugal.

Original Article from : Gulf Times

QCB official hails Qatar monetary policy

The US dollar is expected to fall again by 2010 triggering up inflation rates in the Gulf states, a top Qatar Central Bank official said in Doha yesterday.
“This will happen by 2010-end when the global financial crisis is likely to reach its end in the US,” said Khaled Rashed al-Khater, director of the department of research and monetary policy at QCB.
About the repercussions of the global financial crisis on the US, the official predicted that the dollar will lose its position as the international reserve currency in the long-run, saying that the US share of the world output would decline in the coming years.
“There will be a shift of weight of world demand for oil from the US to China, India, and other countries. The current rally of the US dollar is temporary. It is expected to depreciate in the medium-run by no less than 20%,” he said.
Qatar’s proven resilient banking system amid the current financial turmoil as well as its “credible and independent” monetary policy make it “very eligible” to host the planned common Gulf central bank, the senior official said.
Speaking at a lecture yesterday at the Georgetown University School of Foreign Service in Qatar, al-Khater said that Qatar’s independent monetary policy as well as its resilient banking system made it very eligible to be the hosting country of the Gulf central bank.
“We are very eligible. We have a credible monetary policy. We conducted many researches on monetary union and inflation in the Gulf states. At a time when all the Gulf states followed the US Fed cutting the interest, Qatar was the only country among the group which did not follow the US Fed. We also do not have a problem with our banking system or the availability of liquidity,” al-Khater said.
Gulf leaders are due to meet in Saudi Arabia next month to decide on the location of the common central bank which is expected to administer the planned monetary union which will culminate in the single Gulf currency.
However, al-Khater ruled out the possibility that the Gulf states would be able to meet the 2010 deadline for the single currency.
“It is unlikely or impossible to launch the single currency in 2010. The plans for the monetary union have started but still need more effort to meet the criteria,” he said.
Asked whether the QCB would interfere in the local banks policies regarding overseas investment, the official stressed that the central bank would not impose any restrictions on local banks about their investment choices, saying that such decisions were up to the banks.
“This is free economy and free market. Of course there are regulations that banks should abide by, but we do not interfere in their investment policies,” he added.
The expert also admitted that there was a decline in the cash inflow for Qatar, saying that this was due to shortage of liquidity in the entire world.
About Qatar’s monetary policy, al-Khater hailed it as “credible and independent”, saying that Qatar’s banking sector was among the least affected and the most resilient in the region during the current global financial turmoil.
“When the market bubbles burst in the region in 2006, Qatar was the least affected among its neighbours. Thanks to QCB’s pre-emptive conservative credit policy during the lending boom in 2002-03, our banking system is still the most resilient in the region,” he added.
“If we do not have an independent and credible monetary policy, we would have to follow the recent interest cut made by the Fed since we are pegged to the US dollar, but we did not,” he maintained.
He added that QCB was still ready to extend liquidity in the banking system via its collateralised and refinance-standing facilities, and direct deposit at the micro-level.
Al-Khater, who was briefing the Georgetown University School of Foreign Services on his views about the implications of the global crisis as well as Qatar’s monetary policy, also said that the implications of the financial crisis would require the Gulf states to reconsider their dollar peg arrangements in the future.

Original Article from: Gulf Times

Qatar shines amid global gloom: Expert

The World Bank warned yesterday that the global recession was going to last long and the worst has yet to come, especially in the developing countries.

The world has experienced economic shocks and there has been a contraction in trade this year, Carlos Primo Braga, Director for Economic Policy, World Bank, said during the conclusion of a conference here yesterday.

Addressing the 3rd International Conference on Information and Communication Technologies and Development (ICTD) 2009 at the Carnegie Mellon University-Qatar, Braga, however, said the only high-growth country in these challenging times was Qatar due to its vibrant liquefied natural gas (LNG) industry.

Qatar’s efforts to put emphasis on knowledge-based economy has played a significant role in stimulating stable economic growth even in the face of the global financial crisis.

Braga said with the deepening financial crisis, several governments saw investments in Information Communication Technologies (ICT) as an integral part of recovery efforts.

“I’m happy with what I’m seeing in Qatar, which is investing in its future, not only in infrastructure, but is also concentrating in its knowledge-based economy to sustain significant growth.”

The ICT industry is better positioned to confront the crisis, said Braga. “The telecommunications service is the leading indicator of economic recovery.”

Braga concluded that e-business and ICT use will continue to expand on a global basis and their benefits can be substantial not only for business, but in also promoting trade and enhancing productivity at a macro-level.

“Convergence in e-business practices can happen, but… unless the governments provide the proper regulatory environment for private action and support efforts to expand digital literacy, with special attention to the needs of Small and Medium-size Enterprises (SME), the digital divide at the level of business practices will widen,” he said.

With more than 350 scholars, practitioners and social scientists focused on a broad range of domains from around the world, the ICTD organisers have declared the conference a success.

“ICTD2009 has already achieved great success. We are extremely pleased with the number of people who have joined us from so many places around the world. The level of excitement and quality of participation has exceeded our expectations,” said Bernardine Dias, PhD, assistant research professor of Robotics at Carnegie Mellon University and ICTD2009 Conference Chair. Carnegie Mellon University in Qatar hosted the three-day ICTD2009 conference, with the TechBridgeWorld research group.

Original Article from: The Peninsula

Emir holds official talks in Tanzania

HH the Emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani and Tanzanian President Jakaya Mrisho Kikwete held a round of official talks here yesterday.
Bilateral relations and ways of enhancing them as well as a number of regional and international issues of mutual concern were reviewed during the talks.
The talks were attended by HE the Minister of State for International Co-operation Dr Khalid bin Mohamed al-Attiyah and HH the Emir’s Secretary for Follow-up Affairs Saad bin Mohamed al-Rumeihi.
On the Tanzanian side, the talks were attended by Minister of Education and Vocational Training Professor Jumanne Abdullah Maghembe and Deputy Finance Minister Youssuf Mezzi.
Separately HH Sheikha Mozah Nasser al-Misnad held talks with the Tanzanian president’s wife Salma Kikwete.
A number of issues of mutual concern were taken up during the meeting.
Later, the Emir and Sheikha Mozah left Tanzania wrapping up a brief visit. They were seen off at the airport by the Tanzanian president and his wife.

Original Article from: Gulf Times

No amnesty for illegal workers on cards

There are no plans to declare another amnesty in Qatar but illegal workers who voluntarily surrender to the law enforcing authorities have been allowed to return home without facing imprisonment, according to a senior official at the Ministry of Interior.

Colonel Mohammed Al Ateeq, assistant director of the General Directorate of Borders, Passports and Expatriate Affairs at the ministry, told The Peninsula yesterday that the ministry had seen a recent rise in the number of expatriate workers fleeing their sponsors and working illegally in the country.

“We have been conducting daily inspections mainly in areas where there is a concentration of expatriate workers. A number of runaway workers and those who are working outside their legal sponsors are being arrested in these raids,” said Al Ateeq.

Asked if there were plans to declare another amnesty in Qatar to facilitate repatriation of illegal workers, he said, “There are no such plans at the moment, but we are helping such workers to leave the country if they voluntarily surrender to the authorities. They can return home after paying the fines and they don’t have to face imprisonment. We have seen a significant rise in the number of people voluntarily reporting at the ministry to return home.”

He said the ministry was keen to make the procedure of their repatriation as fast and simple as possible.

Original Article from: The Peninsula