Doha, December 28 (QNA) - The year 2016 has witnessed many different successes and milestones in Qatar adding to its overall development under the leadership of HH the Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani and the guidance of HE the Prime Minister and Minister Interior Sheikh Abdullah bin Nasser bin Khalifa Al-Thani.

The many foreign visits carried out by HH the Emir during the past year, played a major role in Qatar's politics granting it prosperity in all perspectives including partnership agreements with Qatar and other countries, and the coverage of the issues pertaining the GCC and the region.

In the past year, HH the Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani visited Russia, Italy, Bosnia and Herzegovina, France, Turkmenistan, Azerbaijan, Turkey, Morocco, Tunisia, Algeria, Mauritania, Argentine, and Colombia to ensure bilateral relations and agreements for the benefit of Qatar and its counterparts in various fields. In addition, HH the Emir's determination to the success of the GCC union led to his keenness to attend various GCC states to attend different events, conferences and activities.

On the Darfur Peace Agreement which was led by Qatar's mediation, HH the Emir visited the North Darfur to celebrate the successes of ending the war in the province and inaugurating the era of construction and development.

In the United Nations, HH the Emir presented the opening speech last September, and called on the world to hold its commitments and responsibilities towards the issues found in the region without selectivity saying, "It is not possible for us to ignore the weakness of the legal and institutional system of the United Nation's and its inability in many situations to apply justice".

Meanwhile, HE the Prime Minister and Minister Interior Sheikh Abdullah bin Nasser bin Khalifa Al-Thani visited Tunisia, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, United Arab Emirates, and India to support the friendship and ties between Qatar and its counterparts.

This year HH the Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani presented the "Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani Anti-Corruption Excellence Award" to its awardees in Vienna this year to appreciate the contribution to anti corruption efforts to entities and personnel.

On the other hand, Qatar has hosted many different delegations and public workers from around the world, marked by the historic visit of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud to enhance the relations between both nations. 

In terms of Qatar's rankings in different fields, it held the 14th in the latest world competitiveness report (2015-2016) by the World Economic Forum and ranked first in the Middle East in competition with 140 countries worldwide, and the 2nd and 12th ranking in the Middle East and the world respectively in the index of Economic Freedom issued in 2016, and the 1st in the Middle East for information and communications technology digital economy. 

In the infrastructure fields, Qatar achieved different high rankings for Hamad International Airport, road infrastructures, Marine ports, governmental electronic services, information technology, digital technology , which covered the sectors of sustainability, intelligence and eco-friendliness. All these advances qualified Qatar to consider space and satellite fields where in 2016 it finalized the design of Es'hailSat 2 and it is planned to launch in 2017. 

All these achievements are supported by the strong foundation of higher education and scientific research which is recognized by major international institutions in the field, by placing Qatar University in the 49th ranking world wide based on the QS World University Rankings and based on Time Magazine rankings, Qatar University ranked 1st due to its fast paced growth where it increased its publications by 246 percent during the past five years. 

The past year Qatar has also witnessed an increase the number of touristic visits ranking the highest visited GCC state within the region. However, it has proved to not only be a family destination but also a cultural one with the help of Qatar Museums and its enrollment of Al Zubarah Archaeological Site as part of the UNESCO World Heritage List. In addition, sports tourism has contributed to the overall growth of tourism led by the 2022 FIFA World Cup. (END)