Qatar’s government ran a $100mn budget deficit in the first quarter of 2020, before the full impact of the coronavirus pandemic had hit. With key export revenues having dropped sharply in the second quarter of the year, the deficit budget has likely since grown further.
Entering 2020 Doha was budgeting for a modest $100mn surplus this year, but those plans have been swept away by the unprecedented impact of the pandemic across the globe (MEES, 31 January). (CONTINUED - 160 WORDS)