Let’s imagine for a while that Qatar is politically similar to the Sultanate of Brunei, shunning regional conflicts, the financing of organisations and acts of sabotage, and cooperating with its neighbouring countries to underpin stability. Or even similar to Singapore, a global financial centre and a hub for scientific research, given that Qatar has all the necessary potential.
If this was the case, the situation would be completely different and Qatar would have a pivotal economic role rather than a fake and temporary political role. Unfortunately, Qatar has never been like that. However, it can correct its mistakes by reverting to wisdom and reason and spending hundreds of millions on establishing a medical research centre. And not waste on suspicious entities such as the Azmi Bishara Centre, which has contributed to debilitating a lot of Arab countries.
The medical centre, if it existed, would help train and qualify Qatari and Gulf citizens and develop remedies for endemic and chronic diseases, especially diabetes and hypertension that are widespread in Gulf communities. More so, given that Qatar perilously lacks national qualified cadres in all fields.
Most importantly, Qatar can — instead of financing terrorist organisations and wasting hefty amounts of money — help develop research focusing on genetic engineering and turn itself into a regional hub. It can also invest and develop in other fields such as solar energy and desalination, fields in which Qatar has nothing much to show so far.
As for the huge allocations made for media and intervention in others’ affairs as well as on incitement, Qatar can use the wasted money to build two networks for natural gas, which is its main source of income.
Two monumental projects
The first should be established in the north towards Kuwait and crossing Iraq, Turkey and Europe, while the other should be built in the south towards the UAE, Pakistan, India and other Asian countries. It would, if implemented, definitely reduce gas transportation costs and boost the competitiveness of the Qatari gas in international markets.
Yet these two monumental projects cannot be implemented in anyway whatsoever without getting Saudi Arabia’s approval for the northern network and the UAE’s for the southern, keeping in mind that the UAE and Saudi Arabia are sister countries that wish good for the Qatari people and would cooperate with Qatar if it changed its aggressive and destructive policies that lead nowhere and will definitely fail.
These are just a few examples of the many development projects that Qatar can implement instead of wasting billions on foreign organisations financing subversion and the purchase of influence. At that point, Qatar will be totally different. It will be a peaceful country that contributes to the stability of the region and will gain the respect of others.
Regrettably, it does not seem the Qatari regime adopts such a vision or conviction; instead, it embraces blind agendas as evidenced by some leaked records. It is even incompetent to understand regional and international balances, which cannot allow Qatar to play an oversized role. That is why Brunei and Singapore know very well their real size and they act and behave based on that fact.
Wasting money abroad
The real problem now is that Qatar’s scattered wealth here and there is irreplaceable, at a time when oil and gas prices are deteriorating and oil era is melting away, which offers not enough time and opportunities to find alternatives that Qatar is currently overusing naively and cynically. Therefore, the Qatari people would suffer a lot in the future if the polices of wasting money abroad and internal negligence continue.
It is true that internally Qatar enjoys high levels of income and extravagance, but there is no guarantee this would continue particularly in the light of a noticeable ignorance for the alternative, and putting future generations at risk. At that point, these generations will curse the Qatari regime and deplore the wasted money and opportunities that went down the drain.
It is taken for granted that the approach being adopted by Qatar is a dead-end for many reasons. If there is some sort of logic, things will change and lead to a new Qatar that will be known for fostering science, tolerance and cooperation, especially with its sister countries which care about its stability and development and who always stood beside it. And not with the Guardianship of the Islamic Jurist (Vilayat-e Faqih) regime, which is lurking against it and other regional countries.
Dr Mohammad Al Asoomi is a UAE economic expert and specialist in economic and social development in the UAE and the GCC countries.
