Day: April 16, 2023

On the occasion of Eid Al Fitr, the Amiri Diwan announced that the Eid holiday will be as follows: Eid holiday for ministries, other government entities, and public institutions starts on Wednesday 28 Ramadan 1444 AH, corresponding to April 19, 2023, and ends on Thursday, April 27, 2023. Employees are to resume work on Sunday, April 30, 2023.

As for Qatar Central Bank (QCB), banks, and financial institutions working under the supervision of QCB and Qatar Financial Markets Authority (QFMA), the Governor of Qatar Central Bank shall specify the start and the end of the holiday.

Source: Qatar News Agency

Iran and Venezuela signed new joint documents and Memoranda of Cooperation (MoCs) to develop oil fields, modernize refineries and petrochemical complexes and to boost bilateral oil trade, Iranian News Agency (IRNA) reported on Sunday.

Iran’s Minister of Petroleum Javad Owji signed the documents during a visit to Caracas with his Venezuelan counterpart Pedro Rafael Tellechea, in the presence of Venezuelan First Vice President Delcy Eloina Rodriguez Gomez. The MoCs aim to strengthen bilateral cooperation between Iran and Venezuela in the upstream and downstream operations.

Both sides also sealed agreements to reconstruct and modernize Venezuelan petrochemical complexes, loading docks and oil terminals, and gas condensate with the help of Iranian technical and engineering services and equipment.

Source: Qatar News Agency

The State of Qatar has welcomed the prisoner exchange process between the Yemeni government and the Houthis, considering it a humanitarian gesture and a positive step that would pave the way for a comprehensive political solution.

In a statement today, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs expressed the State of Qatar’s aspiration that this process would contribute to strengthening efforts aimed at fortifying the truce and establishing sustainable peace, in a way that achieves the aspirations of the brotherly Yemeni people for security and development.

The Ministry renewed the State of Qatar’s position that calls for a solution to the Yemeni crisis based on the Gulf initiative and relevant Security Council resolutions, especially Resolution No. 2216.

The Ministry also expressed Qatar’s appreciation for the role of the Office of the Special Envoy of the United Nations Secretary-General for Yemen and the International Committee of the Red Cross in sponsoring prisoner exchanges.

Source: Qatar News Agency

Qatar’s Industrial Production Index (IPI) reached 98.7 points in Feb. 2023, showing a 12.4 percent increase compared to the same period last year and a 4.2 percent decrease versus Jan. 2023.

Released by the Planning and Statistics Authority, the IPI is a short-term quantitative index that measures the growth of various industrial sectors in economy. The relative weight of main economic sectors under this indicator include, Mining (82.46%), Manufacturing (15.85%), Electricity (1.16%), Water (0.53%).

According to data, the index of the Mining sector showed a 4.4 percent increase compared to January, because of the decrease in the quantities of “crude oil petroleum and natural gas” with the same percentage, while “other mining and quarrying” declined by 1.7 percent. On a Y-o-Y basis, the IPI of Mining rose by 14.3 percent.

In Manufacturing, the index of this sector decreased by 2.3 percent versus Jan. 2023. The groups that showed a decrease include: “manufacture of refined petroleum products” by 9.3%, “manufacture of chemicals and chemical products” by 3.9%, followed by “manufacture of beverages” by 2.3% and “manufacture of food products” by 0.2%.

However, an increase was recorded in “manufacture of basic metals” by 2.9 percent followed by “manufacture of rubber and plastics products” by 1.4% “manufacture of Cement and other non-metallic mineral products” by 0.5 percent. The ‘printing and reproduction of recorded media’ group remained the same.

On a Y-o-Y basis, the manufacturing sector showed a 4.1 percent increase. The refined petroleum products increased by 34.7 percent, manufacture of beverages by 7.6 percent, “manufacture of food products” and “manufacture of basic metals” by 4.5 percent apiece, “manufacture of rubber and plastics products” by 1.2 percent and “manufacture of chemicals and chemical products” by 0.8 percent. The decline was registered in groups of “manufacture of Cement and other non-metallic mineral products” by 12.8 percent and ‘printing and reproduction of recorded media’ by 9.1 percent.

The Electricity and Gas Supply sector saw a 1.9 percent decrease compared to Jan. 2023, but it showed a Y-o-Y increase of 14.6 percent.

Data of Water Supply showed a 17.9 percent decrease in the water production versus Jan. 2023 and a 10.7 percent on a Y-o-Y basis.

Source: Qatar News Agency