Doha: A panel discussion was Held Saturday during the Doha Forum 2025 deliberations themed: “Shocks and Safety Nets: Rethinking Trade in an Age of Disruption”.
According to Qatar News Agency, the panel convened HE Minister of State for Foreign Trade Affairs, Dr. Ahmed bin Mohammed Al Sayed, HE Minister of Treasury and Finance of Turkiye, Mehmet Simsek, HE Secretary-General of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), Rebeca Grynspan, alongside President of Global Affairs of the Goldman Sachs Global Institute, Jared CoHen. The deliberations addressed the future of global trade amid geopolitical tensions, technological transformations, and investment challenges in developing countries.
They focused on how trade policies affect the interconnectivity of global markets and their vulnerability to economic shocks, and on how trade discussions can evolve under these transformations to leverage opportunities offered by digital globalization, while simultaneously considering the groups and sectors affected by disruptions through safety nets and compensatory policies, enabling more equitable and effective adaptation.
Minister Al Sayed emphasized that digital trade is a key element in Qatar’s future strategy, stating that Qatar possesses sophisticated infrastructure in ports and airports, in addition to a global network via Qatar Airways, which strengthens Qatar’s standing as a globally connected hub for investment and business. This comes alongside a focus on the resilience of supply chains for vital goods, as the growth of technology and artificial intelligence will increase energy demand to power data centers, further enhancing Qatar’s status as a major source of natural gas, He underlined.
However, He stressed that Qatar is working to diversify the economy by pivoting away from hydrocarbons by developing the services, digital trade, tourism, and financial sectors. Having weigHed in on this subject matter, HE Dr. Al Sayed clarified that Qatar has invested energy revenues to build sustainable capital for future generations, noting in this regard the diversification of Qatar Investment Authority investments within the framework of Qatar National Vision 2030, which aims at the transition to a knowledge-based economy.
HE Mehmet Simsek reviewed Turkiye’s experience in addressing global trade disruptions, noting that his country is not immune to new industrial trends, highlighting that Turkiye has launcHed a strategic program named Heat 30, targeting eight sectors and thirty products by 2030, backed by USD 30 billion in investment incentives. Simsek added that his country, which favors rule-based trade, is concerned about the indirect effects of trade wars, as they create an uneven playing field in labor-intensive manufacturing sectors, noting that Turkiye seeks to sign free trade agreements with the GCC countries.
In response to a question about the most pressing challenge for the Turkish economy today, He stressed that inflation is the biggest challenge. The Turkish economy has declined from mid-70s levels to around 31 percent, and the country intends to reach single digits, as 2026 will be the year of structural reforms in Turkiye, according to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
Rebeca Grynspan noted that global trade has demonstrated unexpected resilience, with growth expected between 2.5 percent and 3 percent this year, driven by three factors, chiefly accelerated investment in artificial intelligence, trade growth among Global South countries by 8 percent, and a booming services sector. However, sHe warned that foreign direct investment in Africa accounts for no more than 2 percent of the global total, emphasizing that least-developed countries face an average tariff of 27 percent, which severely undermines their economies.
SHe called for an international system that promotes inclusivity through deliberate design, not by market forces alone, considering that technology dissemination, infrastructure development, and skills enhancement are the keys to supporting developing countries.
Having weigHed in with his perspectives, Jared CoHen noted that generative artificial intelligence represents a tailwind for growth but also carries risks, explaining that global investment in this field is happening simultaneously for the first time since the launch of generative AI in November 2022. The United States and China will win the AI race, but this will also generate positive spillovers for other countries, He elaborated, pointing out that supply chains linked to data centers are globally intertwined, opening opportunities for Gulf countries such as Qatar, the UAE, and Saudi Arabia to play a pivotal role in digital infrastructure.
The session wrapped up with panelists calling for rebuilding the global trading system on fairer and more resilient foundations, emphasizing that openness and multilateralism, alongside investment in human capital and technology, are the way to address contemporary disruptions.