Qataris observe national day

Qatari nationals observed on Wednesday their country's 18th National Day anniversary as streets and public places were festooned with the colorful National Flag. Qatar came to existence as a state in 1878, when the late Sheikh Jassem Bin Mohammad Al-Thani, founder of modern Qatar, embarked on a quest to solicit recognition of his state from the major super powers at the time, the Ottoman and British empires. Generation after generation, Qatar has grown into a modern-shaped state, until the helm is given to Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al-Thani, the current Amir. Years of independence have been rich in a long chain of national accomplishments, however the core of this march remains developing the Qatari manpower, qualification of which has prompted the government to secure free education, build universities, other teaching institutions and integrated medical facilities. Considering that the youth are the future makers, the state has devoted special attention to this segment of the society, supporting youth activities, sports, holding local, regional, continental and international tournaments. At present, the authorities are preoccupied with preparations to host the World Cup Mondial (2022). The state has adopted "the new-blood policy," paving the way for the young to work in various sectors, occupy senior posts and take part in top decision-making. In its democratic approach, the state has established the Shura Council, the Central Municipal Council, organized free elections and enacted National Constitution, in preparation for future legislative elections. At the political level, this year's November witnessed crucial events in terms of Qatar's ties with the other GCC countries, namely the meetings that had grouped the Amir Sheikh Tamim with other top GCC leaders, his attendance of the Arab-African Summit in Kuwait and the Tripartite GCC Summit that grouped him with the top leaders of Saudi Arabia and Kuwait. Qatar has been generous in supporting other Arab nations, namely the Sudanese and Palestinians as well as the whole Muslim nation. The country strategic objective is implementation of the visionary development strategy that expires 2030. In line with this strategy, the Qataris have been seeking to diversify the national economy, namely fields other than oil and gas, and that is through development of major sectors such as financial services, health and educational care and sports. Employing enormous surplus in the state budget, the government has succeeded in launching re-investment in the national economy. Over the past 10 years, Qatar witnessed major economic transformation, where enormous hike of oil and gas production led to making record economic growth and prompted the government to spend generously on upgrading infrastructure, power and housing sectors. Qatar's gross domestic product grew 18 percent between 2006 and 2012, making it the fastest growing country among the GCC states. The GDP would grow by 4.5 percent during the current fiscal year. Expenditure of the state budget for the 2012-2013 financial year grew 28 percent, compared to projections of the 2011-2012 budget. Spending on major investment ventures constituted 25 percent of the overall expenditure, rising 30 percent, in contrast to actual spending in the previous financial year. Qatar's economic plan aims to trim dependence on the oil sector for income by diversifying the resources, boosting manufacturing industries and mastering modern technology. Moreover, the state encourages using financial surplus by giving incentives to the private sector to invest in industrial development and privatizing part of the national industrial sector.