Qatar breaks from high-pressure surge

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In Doha the cranes are whirring and the headhunters are still busy, but Ibrahim Ibrahim, an adviser to the emir, says Qatar is taking a break from headlong growth.

As secretary-general of the general secretariat for development planning, Mr Ibrahim’s job title sounds like that of a Soviet functionary. The Qatari government is engaging in central planning on a heroic scale as it manoeuvres through the global crisis but the economic hand dealt the country is the envy of any red-blooded capitalist.

Qatar has been the fastest growing economy in the Gulf for about a decade. But, as oil prices headed north and gas exports increased, inflation spiralled. So the breather brought about by the financial crisis is generally welcomed by economists.