Qatar’s finance minister said on Sunday that energy prices should be fair for both producers and consumers.
“We need stable and fair prices that can be supported by the supplier as well as the buyer. This is what our interest is in the long term,” Ali bin Ahmed Al Kuwari said at the Doha Forum international conference.
He underlined the impact of the Ukrainian crisis and sanctions on Russia on the hike in the prices of food and energy products.
He made his remarks during his participation at a panel discussion, “Economic Crises and Coordinated Global Recovery Efforts: Towards An Inclusive Multilateralism,” with the participation of International Monetary Fund (IMF) Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva.
Al Kuwari called for resolving the Ukrainian crisis through peaceful means, saying Doha was seeking to provide peaceful solutions.
The minister underlined the current shortage of oil supply in global markets estimated at two million barrels a day, which led to the increase in prices.
He also noted that the world is witnessing a shortage of gas supplies, and that it would take years to rebalance the market.
“Qatar is committed to long-term contracts and would need four to five years to raise its production capacity by 60 percent.”
He said the world needs to join hands and think about future generations, especially at the level of sustainability in various fields.
“Everyone is responsible for maintaining a more sustainable world for future generations,” he stressed.
Georgieva, for her part, said that the comprehensive multilateralism is the approach for addressing the crises.
She pointed to the shock suffered by the world, which is still recovering from the repercussions of the COVID-19 pandemic, due to the war in Ukraine.
“The war has ravaged various economic expectations as the world hoped to reduce inflation rates and increased growth to find themselves in an opposite situation.”
The geopolitical tensions create great pressure on recovery efforts, she added, noting that it is important not to lose sight of the group that will pay the price, namely the poor.
Georgieva deemed sanctions the correct approach.
“The number of displaced people from Ukraine has amounted to three million,” she noted, stressing the need to end this war.
