ABSTRACT
Qatar is small in area and population and it has considerable international links. The long-established patterns have been extended and widened due to Qatar's dual and interrelated status as an oil exporter and a capital-surplus nation. These regional and global connections are forged primarily in the economic areas of trade, investment, and assistance programmes. The potential gains from trade and regional cooperation between Qatar and the rest of the Arab Gulf states transcend the purely economic realm and may include almost every aspect of national life. International trade, based overwhelmingly upon the export of oil, is the mainstay of the Qatari economy. Due to the limited agricultural and industrial base of the economy, the country is highly dependent on imports to satisfy rising local demand for consumer goods as well as intermediate and capital goods. The development and industrialisation policies have contributed to the shift in the composition of imports which has moved from consumer goods towards capital goods.
