By Pratap John
QATAR is the most competitive Arab economy, a report by the World Economic Forum (WEF) indicates.
Qatar has also secured 26th rank worldwide in The Global Competitiveness Report (GCR) 2008-2009, which was released yesterday by the World Economic Forum. Last year Qatar stood at the 31st position worldwide.
Among Qatar’s Gulf neighbours, Saudi Arabia is just behind at rank 27, the UAE at 31, Kuwait in 35, Bahrain in 37 and Oman in 38.
The United States tops the overall ranking in The Global Competitiveness Report 2008-2009. Switzerland is in second position followed by Denmark, Sweden, Singapore, Finland and Germany, respectively.
The rankings are calculated from both publicly available data and the Executive Opinion Survey, which is conducted yearly by the Qatari Businessmen Association to record the views of business leaders and professionals in the country.
The ranking has been done using the Global Competitiveness Index (GCI), originally introduced in 2004.
The report speaks about the main strengths and weaknesses of countries, making it possible to identify key priorities for policy reform.
The GCI has been based on some 12 “pillars of competitiveness” such as institutions, infrastructure, macroeconomic stability, health and primary education, higher education and training; goods market efficiency, labour market efficiency, financial market sophistication, technological readiness, market size, business sophistication and innovation.
A Qatari Businessmen Association spokesman expressed happiness over the country’s ranking. “Qatar affirms its determination to become one of the most competitive economies in the world as it has ranked number 26 in The Global Competitiveness Report,” the spokesman said.
“The efficiency of the local markets, the sophistication of its business community supported by Qatari Businessmen Association, the increasing capacity for innovation that exists within a world-class system of universities and research centres, all contribute to making Qatar a highly competitive economy,” he added.
Qatari Businessmen Association chairman Sheikh Faisal bin Qassim al-Thani, commenting on the report, said: “Economic strategy, especially at the microeconomic level, needs to set priorities that reflect the most important constraints to competitiveness in each country. The GCR enables countries to move beyond abstract theoretical policy debates and identify the specific tasks ahead of them.”
Klaus Schwab, founder and executive chairman of World Economic Forum, said: “In an uncertain global financial environment it is more important than ever for countries to put into place the fundamentals underpinning economic growth and development.
“The World Economic Forum has for many years played a facilitating role in this process by providing detailed assessments of the productive potential of nations worldwide.”
The World Economic Forum continues to expand geographic coverage in the report. Featuring some 134 countries, this year’s report is the most comprehensive of its type. Coverage has been expanded to Brunei Darussalam, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana and Malawi.
Qatari Businessmen Association said it was in the process of establishing a National Competitiveness Council, mobilising the country’s think tanks and key figures from the business community, the government and the academia to work together on developing competitiveness aspects.