The State of Qatar is hosting the third edition of the Qatar Economic Forum, the most prominent regional platform to enrich dialogue on strategic issues that top the priorities of the global economy, and enhancing international economic partnerships, and strengthening bridges of communication and dialogue between different peoples, in a way that embodies the international reality and foresees the future.
This edition of the forum, which is powered by Bloomberg, addresses major axes in the economic interdependence between the countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council, India and Southeast Asia, and the impact of the relationship between these regional powers in driving global growth during the next decade, and the investment opportunities that may result from them for international companies.
In another major axis within the forum’s three-day edition, the forum discusses the best ways to manage inflation, enhance long-term productivity and economic growth, and ways to raise workers’ salaries and allowances without causing a deep and long-term recession.
It also explores the best investment strategies in emerging markets, paving the way towards the most viable growth options for investing in today’s volatile global markets.
In a third axis related to the future of globalization and global trade, this edition considers the impact of changing geopolitical interests on cross-border trade and discusses how to develop direct trade between the countries of the South in a world characterized by more assertive economic management and a move away from globalization.
In the matter of energy transition, this edition of QEF deals with ways to direct the global green energy transition and sustainable business efforts, in the right direction by avoiding the worst scenarios of climate change, in addition to highlighting - in a separate axis, the way in which artificial intelligence, Blockchain and Metaverse will unite and other technologies to revolutionize the ways of trading, work and even in the field of games.
At the sports level, the third edition of the Qatar Economic Forum looks at ways to maximize the commercial potential of global sports while protecting the spirit of the games.
Commenting on the importance of the current edition of the forum, CEO of Standard Chartered Bank Qatar, Muhannad Mukahall, said, in an interview with Qatar News Agency (QNA), that the Qatar Economic Forum is one of the most prominent international events through which the country aims to attract heads of government and business leaders influencers and academics to shed light on the innovations necessary to advance the global economy, forming a link between East, West and Africa.
Mukahall indicated that the aim of organizing a third edition of the Qatar Economic Forum is to chart the course for the future stages of global economic growth, in light of the recovery in Qatari economic activity driven by several factors, including the recovery of domestic demand and the growth of private sector credit.
He explained that this year’s forum seeks to strengthen the interdependence of the international community in particular, as the 2023 edition will concentrate on topics that focus on global growth to establish a new road map for global growth, in a challenging economic environment. This comes at a time when heads of state and global business leaders are preparing to discuss a number of global challenges, pressing issues and proposed solutions to them against the background of the most important events currently taking place in the region, based on what the forum represents as a dialogue economic platform to discuss global economic and financial issues and exchange ideas, expertise and experiences among participants from different countries. The platform it provides for cooperation between companies and financial institutions in Qatar and around the world to increase trade exchange and investment and improve local economies, he added.
In this regard, he pointed out the importance of the forum in enhancing interaction and economic integration between countries and global economic stability, as well as helping to strengthen bilateral relations and cooperation between Qatar and countries in Africa, the Middle East and Europe, which could lead to the improvement of diplomatic and economic relations between these countries.
He believed that these fluctuations could have a significant impact on the banking industry, for example, if countries face economic difficulties, banks may face challenges in providing loans and achieving profits, and this could affect the growth of banks as well as the economy in general.
He pointed out that geopolitical factors related to international and financial trade, such as trade tensions between countries and changes in exchange rates, can greatly affect the banking sector, especially in emerging markets that rely heavily on foreign investments and international trade.
About the shift in the current global economic system, he said that the final expectation of those shifts depends on many variable factors, which include, for example, developments in economic and trade policy in the world, developments in geopolitical and social events in China in particular, and changes in global commodity and currency markets. He believed that it is important to look at China as an essential part of the global economic system, and to identify the challenges and opportunities that may face the global economy in the future, considering the effects that resulted from the Corona pandemic and the countries engaged in a trade war that lasted for three years.
CEO of Standard Chartered Bank Qatar Muhannad Mukahall added that there is no doubt that China plays a pivotal role in the global economy, that it is one of the largest economies in the world, and that through its renewed economic and trade policies, it is constantly seeking to enhance international trade, investment and economic growth and compensate for its losses during the pandemic period.
China’s sudden reopening to the world paved the way for a rapid recovery of economic activity in all importing markets, as the imposed restrictions and waves of outbreaks of COVID-19 virus in China led to a weakening of economic activity last year, but with the reopening of the economy, we are now seeing a recovery Growth and reaching 5.2% this year with the recovery of activity and freedom of movement, he noted.
With regard to the world overcoming the ongoing supply chain crisis, and the discrepancy between future jobs and the current capabilities of the workforce in light of the post-COVID pandemic world, he said that it cannot be certain that the world has completely overcome the ongoing supply chain crisis and the discrepancy between future jobs and the current capabilities of the workforce in a world post-Corona pandemic, the pandemic and the resulting restrictions are still affecting supply and production chains in some countries, and have caused major changes in the global economy and the labor market.
Disruptions in supply chains and increasing geopolitical tensions have put the risks as well as the potential benefits and costs of geo-economic fragmentation at the center of the policy debate that can reshape the geography of foreign investment and that can affect the global economy. In the wake of the exceptional support to confront the pandemic and attempts to overcome the supply chain crisis, governments should work to reduce inflation and enhance financial stability while protecting the most vulnerable and preserving public resources, he added.
He explained that there are great moves taking place in the world to confront these challenges, as many governments and companies in all countries are now seeking to improve supply chains and increase sustainability in production, and this can help mitigate the impact of crises in the future.
