Al-Raya Hails Qatar's Professionalism in Addressing COVID-19 Pandemic

Doha, July 15 (QNA) - In its editorial on Thursday, Al-Raya newspaper hailed the State of Qatar's professional manner in dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic, which had a great impact in keeping the State away from the effects of the pandemic that had cast a shadow on the world's countries. The paper said that this crisis drained the capabilities of countries and put enormous pressure on all sectors, especially the economic sector, as they are still dealing with these catastrophic repercussions, noting that the situation is different in Qatar, thanks to the proactive measures taken by the State, and the economic stimulus packages for the affected economic sectors, which contributed to the resilience of the Qatari economy against the pandemic. Al-Raya highlighted the proactive thinking and rapid adapting to the changes that constitute a basic pillar of the country's plans and programs, as well as adopting flexibility to be a major approach in dealing with various regional and international challenges, especially during the current situation that was witnessed by all countries- after the outbreak of the pandemic and the decline in oil and gas prices. Since the beginning of the Coronavirus outbreak in March of 2020, Qatar hastened to adopt a number of flexible proactive measures to prevent further outbreak of the virus, accompanied by fiscal stimulus policies for the affected sectors with exemption of food and medical goods from customs duties for a period of six months, as an early response to any future repercussions or consequences of the pandemic, the paper added. Al-Raya explained that these policies had a significant role in reviving the resilience of the Qatari economy, as the private sector benefited from the government support incentives that were approved to confront the pandemic, which is where the commercial activity kept going despite the challenges, and small and medium enterprises maintained their commercial activity similar to factories and large companies. The paper affirmed that the balanced monetary policy that Qatar followed to face the repercussions of the pandemic, which was represented in reducing its main interest rates, had a great impact in immunizing the Qatari economy from the pandemic, as well as the Qatar Central Bank's continued support of local banks' liquidity as needed. The paper also pointed out that these policies were not the only factor that contributed to the resilience of the Qatari economy against the COVID-19 crisis, as this crisis occurred at a time when the country was moving forward in developing economic legislation that reflected a forward-looking vision for the future, which alleviated the repercussions of the crises and challenges that was facing the global economy. The paper concluded its editorial by saying that international credit ratings confirm that Qatar's economy enjoys flexibility, diversity and ability to face challenges and risks, and it tops the region's economies, in addition to its advanced rank in global competitiveness indicators, stressing that the most important factors of the strength of the State's economy are the attractive investment environment in important sectors, and the administrative and legislative system that stimulate business. (QNA)