Israel's war on Gaza to hit economies across Middle East: Qatar
Qatar's Finance Minister Ali al Kuwari says the solution to the conflict is "really to look for a permanent solution for the main issue in the Middle East which is the Palestinian problem," cautions "this cannot be fixed by military actions".
"If you leave them long term unresolved, we will always go through cycles of violence, cycles of unrest, and which always will slow down the region," Ali al Kuwari said on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum. / Photo: Reuters Archive
The war in Gaza will hit economies across the Middle East if it is not resolved and the conflict urgently needs a non-military solution, Qatar's finance minister told Reuters news agency.
Qatar, whose mediators are involved in talks on the release of Israeli hostages by Hamas, has also helped mediate in several regional conflicts including in Afghanistan.
"The solution is really to look for a permanent solution for the main issue in the Middle East which is the Palestinian problem ... This cannot be fixed by military actions," Qatar's Finance Minister Ali al Kuwari said in Davos.
"If you leave them long term unresolved, we will always go through cycles of violence, cycles of unrest, and which always will slow down the region," he said on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum (WEF) in the Swiss mountain resort.
Israel has launched a relentless military assault on Gaza after a cross-border attack by Hamas on October 7, which Tel Aviv says killed around 1,200 people.
During Israel’s offensive, at least 24,600 Palestinians have been killed and 61,504 others injured. The majority of the victims were children and women.
Iran-backed militias in Lebanon, Iraq and Yemen have also attacked targets in the region to support Palestinians.
Top LNG exporter Qatar is also one of the world's largest investors through its QIA sovereign wealth fund (SWF) and its assessment of risks has implications for its investments.
Kuwari said in an interview that Qatar would post a fiscal surplus again this year, albeit smaller, because it had forecast a very conservative oil price of $60 per barrel. The surplus would be bigger if prices stay at current levels of $78.
$1 trillion
Kuwari expects Qatar will post yet a fiscal surplus despite an expected 11 percent drop in revenues and a 1 percent rise in expenditure.
"We like always to take a conservative view on the oil price when it comes to calculate the revenues," said Kuwari.
Any surplus is divided between state debt repayment, central bank reserves and the QIA, said Kuwari, who is a board member.
Qatar saw record revenues from gas exports in 2022, when global prices spiked after Russia invaded Ukraine.
The Sovereign Wealth Institute estimates Qatar has increased its assets under management to $475 billion over the past years.
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