Qatar at the
World Economic
Forum
On 23 January 2018, the 48th World Economic Forum
Annual Meeting began in Davos, Switzerland, themed
around ‘Creating a Shared Future in a Fractured World’.
His Excellency Mr Ali Shareef Al Emadi, Minister
of Finance, led Qatar’s delegation to the meeting,
accompanied by HE the Foreign Minister; His Excellency
Sheikh Ahmed bin Jassim Al Thani, Minister of Economy
and Commerce; and His Excellency Dr Mohammed bin
Saleh Al Sada, Minister of Energy and Industry.
HE the Foreign Minister was particularly active on the
side-lines of the event, meeting with UK Secretary of
State for International Trade Liam Fox to discuss bilateral
relations and ways to boost and develop them.
On 23 January 2018, in an interview with L’Opinion
Internationale featured by AFP, HE the Foreign Minister
emphasised that, despite the blockade, the situation in
36
Qatar remains normal, and its leaders remain fully “open
to dialogue”. This was followed by his participation in a
World Economic Forum panel entitled ‘A Shared Vision
for the Arab World’, in which he highlighted Qatar’s
commitment to close relations with its Arab neighbours,
and condemned false allegations that Qatar seeks to
destabilise Egypt.
Finally, on 25 January, in an exclusive interview with
Reuters, which led to several original articles, HE the
Foreign Minister stated that Qatar’s preparations for the
2022 World Cup are “fully on track”, after the country
successfully fixed supply lines “briefly disrupted last year”
by the blockade. He also noted that Qatar’s economy
was “now growing much faster than anticipated, and the
country was “well prepared to withstand the crisis”.