The Cabinet yesterday approved the budgetary estimates for fiscal year 2009-10, which begins from April 1, and referred the outlay for mega infrastructure projects to the Advisory Council for recommendations. After the Advisory Council puts its seal of approval on the allocations for public spending, the overall budgetary estimates will be ratified by the higher-ups for implementation. Indications are that since Qatar is all set to unveil its largest budget in history so far and economic growth continues to peak at record highs despite the global recession, the spending on development ventures is going to be huge. Presided over by the Prime Minister and Foreign Minister H E Sheikh Hamad bin Jassem bin Jabor Al Thani, the Cabinet yesterday looked at the estimates of general revenues and general expenditure and after approving them, referred only the allocations on public spending to the Advisory Council. H E Sheikh Nasser bin Mohamed bin Abdul Aziz Al Thani, Minister of State for Cabinet Affairs, told Qatar News Agency (QNA) after the meeting the estimates had been approved by the Council of Ministers. Meanwhile, there are indications that Qatar may witness a staggering $2bn surplus in the financial year 2009 and allocations on public spending in the next budget may be the largest ever. The Director of Economic Affairs, Department at the Ministry of Business and Trade, Saud Jassem Al Jefairi, told QNA that expectations were high that Qatar’s economic growth for 2009 would be rated the highest in the world. Qatar ranks second among the world’s booming economies, but other major international financial institutions rated Qatar as the Number One in the World, Al Jefairi said. He noted that the country could achieve such high growth rates because of political, economic and social stability, which helped in attracting foreign investment. The state has not been affected much by the falling oil prices in the global markets, he said. http://thepeninsulaqatar.com/Display_news.asp?section=Local_News&subsection=Qatar+News&month=March2009&file=Local_News200903262148.xml

Follow us on our social media channels: @ILQlive @ILQlive @ILoveQtr ILoveQatar