DUBAI: Qatar’s foreign minister has said that the country’s sovereign wealth fund could invest in Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states as diplomatic tensions ease following the AlUla agreement.
Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani, who is also chairman of the Qatar Investment Authority, told the Financial Times that “if there are opportunities that we see in the future and we see a continuation of the political will of the countries to engage, we are very open.”
He added: “The Qatar Investment Authority is an investment fund that takes its decisions based on business benefit and the feasibility of projects. I am sure that we saw some ambitious opportunities in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and if we see opportunities there, the Qatar Investment Authority will certainly explore them.”
The Kingdom is keen to attract foreign investment backing Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s ambitious plans to modernize the Saudi economy and overhaul its dependency on oil.
The minister said that Doha had agreed to suspend legal cases against Saudi Arabia and its allies, including lawsuits filed at the World Trade Organization and the International Court of Justice. “When it comes to the appropriate schedule, these legal cases should then be terminated,” he added.
He said that through the easing of tensions in the region, “every state is a winner.”
However, the minister warned that Qatar “will not change relations” with Iran and Turkey, in a sign that it has made few concessions after securing a deal with Saudi Arabia and its allies to end a bitter dispute between the rival Gulf states.
“Doha had agreed to cooperate on fighting against terrorism and transnational security with Saudi Arabia and three states that had imposed an embargo on Qatar,” he said, adding that “bilateral relationships are mainly driven by a sovereign decision of the country and national interest.
“That is why there is no effect on our relationship with any other country.” he said.
“We hope that things take the steps to come back to normal within a week from the signing.
“It will take some steps among the countries to rebuild the relationship. There will be differences and some pending issues that will be discussed bilaterally between the countries, as each country has a different set of disagreements with Qatar,” the minister added.
Qatar FM: Sovereign fund could invest in Saudi Arabia as tensions ease
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Qatar FM: Sovereign fund could invest in Saudi Arabia as tensions ease
- The minister said that Doha had agreed to suspend legal cases against Saudi Arabia and its allies
- He said that through the easing of tensions in the region, “every state is a winner”
Qatar Central Bank’s international reserves see 2.6% annual rise
RIYADH: Qatar Central Bank’s international reserves and foreign currency liquidity increased by 2.65 percent year on year in December, reaching 261.8 billion Qatari Riyals ($71.7 billion).
This compares to 255 billion riyals recorded in the same month of 2024, according to official data reported by the Qatar News Agency.
The expansion of Qatar’s reserves signals a strengthening regional financial position that is anticipated to be reflected in the December data of other Gulf Cooperation Council nations.
The trend was prefigured by Saudi Arabia, where foreign reserve assets saw a substantial monthly rise of 5 percent in November, reaching $463.6 billion, suggesting a region-wide accumulation of liquidity and buffers.
GCC central banks, whose currencies are pegged to the US dollar, often mirror the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy stance. Accumulating foreign reserves helps maintain the credibility of these pegs, manage liquidity, and defend the agreed exchange rates during periods of global financial volatility.
The data showed that QCB’s official international reserves grew by 3.15 percent by the end of December, reaching 202.2 billion riyals compared to the same period in 2024.
However, the bank’s holdings of foreign bonds and treasury notes decreased by approximately 6.8 billion riyals, standing at 120.3 billion riyals in December.
The official reserves consist of multiple core components. These include foreign bonds and treasury notes, cash balances held with foreign banks, and gold holdings. Adding to that are Special Drawing Rights deposits, Qatar’s quota at the International Monetary Fund, and other liquid foreign currency assets.
Combined, these elements constitute the total international reserves.
The data also highlighted a significant increase in gold reserves, which rose by 24.7 billion riyals to reach 58.504 billion riyals by the end of December, up from 33.8 billion riyals in December 2024.
Furthermore, the balance of SDR deposits from Qatar’s IMF quota increased by 193 million riyals, reaching 5.2 billion riyals at the end of December compared to the same month the previous year.
In contrast, balances held with foreign banks declined by approximately 11.8 billion riyals, falling to 18.1 billion riyals by the end of December.
