​​The Ministry of Development Planning and Statistics (MDPS) has launched  the preliminary consultations for the preparation of the 2nd National Development Strategy (NDS) of the State of Qatar 2017 - 2022 through a workshop that was held on Monday -14 September, at the Four Seasons Hotel Doha.
About 60 participants attended the workshop, representing ministries, government agencies, civil society, as the workshop aimed to start the preparation of the 2nd NDS, taking into account the views and opinions of senior representatives of the ministries.
This workshop is in line with the mandate of the Ministry of Development Planning and Statistics, according to the Amiri decision No. 16 of 2014 Designating the Functions of Ministries, where Article 15 stipulates that “The Ministry of Development Planning and Statistics is in charge of setting and developing the State's overall vision, in conjunction with other stakeholders. This includes, preparing national development strategies and following up their execution in coordination with the concerned parties; conducting studies related to such strategies and to population policies; supporting the planning process in government entities; establishing the necessary link between the development priorities and the State's general budget. The Ministry also monitors progress of plans under execution; while establishing an integrated statistical system; conducting, organizing and overseeing official statistics processes; implementing different censuses and surveys; and publishing statistical data and products).
During the workshop, several presentations were given on the preparation of Qatar’s  2nd NDS, identifying the major achievements in the 1st NDS 2011- 2016 and the lessons learned from it.
His Excellency Dr. Saleh bin Mohammed Al-Nabit, Minister of Development Planning and Statistics, opened the workshop by a presentation that reflected an evaluation of the National Development Strategy 2011-2016, and the preparation of the second National Development Strategy 2017-2022 , in view of the critical success factors and future risks .
His Excellency Dr. Saleh Al-Nabit confirmed that the NDS has unified the focus on the achievement of development goals and objectives as articulated in Qatar National Vision 2030, as well as spreading a common culture of strategic planning that goes hand in hand with the vision.
The Minister reiterated that the implementation of the 1st NDS has led to realizing the importance of developing a common and agreed upon agenda between ministries and government agencies, including support of civil society and private sector to take over some initiatives. For his part, HE Dr. Ibrahim Ibrahim , Economic Adviser to the Emiri Diwan, gave a presentation that covered the importance of Qatar National Vision 2030, and the major successes achieved in NDS 2011-2016 at the state level, as well as the challenges that will face the preparation of the 2nd National Development Strategy 2017 -2022 .
The Ministry of Development Planning and Statistics has hosted delegations from the World Bank for consultations on the Second Qatar National Development Strategy, and how to benefit from the experiences of some of the countries in preparing their own strategies and best methods to implement them.