On Sunday, Qatar’s Ministry of Finance announced that the country had achieved a surplus of two billion riyals ($548.9 million) in its state budget during the first quarter of this year, as reported by the Qatar News Agency (QNA). In a statement through their official account on the “X” platform, the Ministry provided details on the actual data of Qatar’s budget for the first quarter of 2024.
The Ministry noted that total revenues for the first quarter amounted to about 53.4 billion riyals, with 47.3 billion riyals coming from oil and gas revenues and 6.1 billion riyals from non-oil revenues. This represented a decrease of 22.1% compared to the same period last year. Total public spending during the first quarter reached approximately 51.4 billion riyals, with 16.3 billion riyals allocated for salaries and wages and 18.8 billion riyals for current expenses. Secondary capital expenditures amounted to 1.4 billion riyals, while major capital expenditures were 14.6 billion riyals – showing an increase of only 5% compared to the same period last year.
In light of these figures, the Ministry emphasized that these surplus funds will be directed towards reducing public debt rather than creating a cash surplus – indicating prudent financial management by the government in this regard
