A decade ago, Qatar's finances were uncertain, but since huge gas revenues came on-stream, its wealth has ballooned, and reserves and financial surpluses have expanded significantly. A 20-year ministerial veteran, Youssef Hussain Kamal has steered the Qatari economy through some volatile times, to become one of the most diversified economies in the Gulf, and one of the most resilient to the current financial turbulence. Today, Qatar not only has the third largest gas reserves in the world but also its sovereign wealth fund, the Qatar Investment Authority (QIA), has funds estimated at $6obn. QIA is establishing a role for itself on the global investment stage, including ground-breaking memoranda of understanding with Indonesia and Turkey, designed to bring its much-needed long-term investment approach to these countries' underdeveloped infrastructure assets.
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