GCC must stop controlling economies, says Qatari sheikh

Gulf states will continue to fail in their quests to diversify because they insist on controlling their economies, a Qatari sheikh and former economy minister has claimed.

Sheikh Mohamed AJ Althani, who was trade and economy minister 2003-06, said until the oil-reliant region built the legal structures and infrastructure to support the private sector, other sectors would struggle to take hold and potentially fill future economic gaps.

“Let me tell you, no one has ever succeeded in diversifying in the Gulf, because if you want to succeed in diversification you need to create the platform and the legal structure and the rule of law to make sure that private sectors and the innovators have access to the money - to whatever they need: a plot of land, a lease, a port, an airport,” Sheikh Mohamed told Arabian Business in an extended interview.

“The state cannot diversify the economy; the state can make the major projects, yes, the billions of dollar projects, fine, but the state cannot go into the diversified world. “The state cannot put its hand up and do everything, but in the Gulf the weight has always been taken by the state: I will do it, they cannot do it.”

However, oil and gas still account for majority of GCC budget revenues, and as much as 92 percent in Saudi Arabia. Sheikh Mohamed said time was running out to use the spoils of the past few decades to help build a non-oil-reliant future, which he said should be led by entrepreneurs.

Source: arabianbusiness.com