Riyadh – A Qatari official said that the implementation of a joint Gulf strategy to promote non-oil and processing industries was underway, with the aim of diversifying the region’s economy and boosting industrial development.

In remarks to Asharq al-Awsat newspaper, Said bin Mubarak al-Kuwari, a senior official at the Qatari Ministry of Energy and Industry, said that the joint Gulf strategy was aimed at diversifying income resources, away from the oil-based industry.

Kuwari noted that the strategy stressed the importance of diversifying Gulf countries’ resources and shifting away from the hydrocarbon industry as the main source of income.

In this regard, the Qatari official said the strategy was aimed at expanding the mechanisms of Gulf economic integration and promoting development through the industrial sector.

“A sound economic integration among Gulf States is also achieved through the development of non-oil exports,” he noted, adding that an extensive study on the means to develop such industries was currently under preparation.

“The Gulf Cooperation Council is looking forward to the completion of this study soon,” Kuwari said, valuing the importance of such strategy in building the bases of a promising industrial sector.

As for promoting partnerships between the public and private sectors, the Qatari official said that this goal was one of the priorities of the GCC and an important objective within the relevant national strategies.

He also underlined the importance of raising the quality and competitiveness of Gulf products in the international markets.

Kuwari expressed high hopes in the future of the Gulf industrial sector, which he said would further boost the region’s economic stability and sustainability.