Featured by OBG
While known primarily for its vast gas reserves prior to 2010, Qatar’s global profile received a major boost that year when it was chosen to host the 2022 FIFA World Cup, leading to a significant increase in infrastructure development throughout the country. Qatar is now leveraging its natural resources to become a knowledge-based, diversified economy, and it is looking to attract greater foreign direct investment to further develop its non-oil growth engines, such as tourism, sports, financial services, technology, real estate and logistics.
A leading cocoa producer and exporter of low-cost power, Côte d’Ivoire is one of the more economically diverse and mineral-rich countries in West Africa. The country is a member of ECOWAS and the Economic and Monetary Community of Central Africa, as well as party to several international trade agreements, which help improve macro stability.
With a long-established track record as the continent’s largest financial platform and one of the world’s biggest mining producers, South Africa has significant economic clout in the region.
Outperforming the majority of its regional peers, Colombia has experienced steady economic growth in the past decade registering GDP growth averaging over 4%, a rate set to continue in 2013.
The past several years have seen significant changes in Jordan. The state is pushing ahead with structural reforms that should provide a sound base for future development, as the economy shows signs of a brisk recovery from the difficult years it has faced in the wake of the global financial crisis.
Bahrain has remained largely insulated from international external risks and has weathered the global economic shocks of the recent past relatively well. At the height of the international financial downturn, for example, the kingdom avoided falling into recession and even achieved real GDP growth of more than 6% in 2008 and over 3% in 2009.
