The Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, verified the general budget for the fiscal year 2021, which will be adopted as of next January.
The total estimated budget revenues are 160.1 billion riyals (43.9 billion dollars), compared to 194.7 billion riyals (53.4 billion dollars) for the total planned expenditures during 2021, and the expected deficit is estimated at 34.6 billion riyals (9.5 billion dollars), according to the Qatari Ministry of Finance.
The Qatari Minister of Finance, Ali Sharif Al-Emadi, explained that the general budget for 2021 was based on an estimation of the price of oil at the level of $40 per barrel, which reflects the state’s continued adoption of a conservative policy in estimating revenues to maintain the financial balance and reduce the effects of oil price fluctuations on the performance of the general budget of the state.
Al-Emadi pointed out that the expected deficit is estimated at 34.6 billion riyals, stressing that the Ministry of Finance will work to cover it through available cash balances or through the issuance of domestic and foreign debt instruments if the need arises.
The new budget allocated 72.1 billion riyals to the main projects out of the total expenditures, and these allocations include adding new projects, while work continues to complete the state's development projects in various sectors and those related to hosting the 2022 World Cup, in addition to allocations for the development of citizens' lands, and the expenses associated with the implementation of infrastructure projects.
Source (Al-Araby Al-Jadeed Newspaper, Edited)
