Located on the south shores of the Arabo-Persian
Gulf, Qatar
is a 11,437 km² peninsula. Its neighbours are Saudi
Arabia to the West, the United
Arab Emirates to the South and Bahrain
in the Northwest. This country, the same size as Corsica,
has 563 km of shoreline, which used to be its main source of wealth before the
discovery of oil: fishing and pearl culture.
Over the last few years, Qatar
has become an especially wealthy country with a GDP, in 2005, of $5,800 per
inhabitant. Even though its oil production remains modest compared to that of
its neighbouring countries, it natural gas production is on the edge of making
it the world’s number one exporter.
Indeed, Qatar
currently holds the third largest gas reserves in the world, behind Russia
and Iran, and
over the last few years, it has heavily invested in the exploitation of this
wealth. As a visionary, the Emir of Qatar does not limit State income solely on
natural resources and he is strengthening his country’s position on the
international scene by creating, for 2010, Energy
City, the first city dedicated to
energetic material exchange in the Middle-East. This new city will house a
stock exchange, as well as many offices and services: banks, laboratories,
insurance companies, training centres, hotel complexes, etc.
There is no existing market leader in this region of the world, hence the
interest for the country to be an innovator in the field, so as to put itself
on a par with Dubai.
The dependency on gas and oil enticed the authorities to orientate themselves
towards a genuine diversification of the economy. Industrial projects around
petrochemistry are actively developing.
Qatar plays an
important role on the international scene and has been, since last year, a
non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council. The satellite TV
channel AL JAZIRA, created by the head of the State, contributes largely to the
distribution of a politically open and independent image.
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