During three years of the Gulf crisis, Qatar has sought to develop its industry to provide for self-sufficiency, which will be compensated by the boycott of its neighbors. Among the last things it did in this context - with the outbreak of the new Corona virus - was to transform a weapons production factory in part into a respirator plant.

A report by the French Press Agency said that this Qatari ambition is evident when visiting the "Barzan" facility, where huge posters of soldiers carrying homemade guns rise with the slogan "sovereignty".

In addition to producing weapons, grenade launchers and night vision goggles, the factory is also producing respirators due to high demand locally and globally after the spread of the Covid-19 epidemic.

This step is part of other similar steps Qatar has taken since it began boycotting regional states.

In cooperation with the American company, "Wilcox" for defense industries, the Qatari factory seeks to manufacture two thousand industrial respirators per week, with many of them being allocated for export to countries that Doha considers as "friendly countries."

In June 2017, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, and Egypt cut diplomatic and commercial ties with Qatar.

Catalyst

General Manager of Barzan Holding Company Nasser Al-Nuaimi supervised an air bridge to bring machines and equipment for the production of respirators from the United States, in a process reminiscent of the air bridge that transported hundreds of cattle and cows to meet the demand for milk and dairy products days after the outbreak of the Gulf crisis.

"There was a five-year strategy to bring these machines here over time, but now they were acquired at once," said Al-Naimi at the factory headquarters in the Qatar Science and Technology Oasis. "It was the right time to seize the opportunity and work to enhance production needs."

The French Press Agency report says that Qatar has secured food stocks and established vegetable farms in a country that has always relied on imports from abroad.

Al-Naimi believes that boycott was a "catalyst that brought us to where we are today," and continues, "It was a curse that turned into a blessing, as it allowed us to achieve our potential and ensure that everything we need strategically is made here."

The report pointed out that "despite the first shock after the outbreak of the crisis, Qatar's economy has proven to be more flexible than its Gulf rivals, with the International Monetary Fund predicting that the Gulf Emirate will be one of the few countries in the world that will achieve a budget surplus in 2020."

Self-sufficiency

The factory notes that five countries have expressed interest in the ventilators they manufacture.

In addition to using defensive manufacturing capabilities that were developed during the province to respond to the implications of Covid-19, Doha also focused on strengthening its steps in the field of food security. In large warehouses in the desert, five major commodities are stored substantially.

"With regard to goods that cannot be grown in the State of Qatar, we have been keen to increase the stock of them, to meet any challenges, whether epidemic such as the Corona crisis or others," says Jassim bin Jabr Al Thani, adding that "we have enough rice For eight months, sugar for seven months, and oil for three. "

And Doha announced late last year its intention to increase its strategic stockpile from 22 major commodities to three million people over a period of six months.

Qatar ranked first in terms of food security in the Middle East, and 13th globally in the latest classification of the World Food Security Index.

"If you look at the past about ten years ago, everyone was talking about Gulf society," said regional expert Tobias Burke.

He added, "Qatar did not need to be self-sufficient enough, but the crisis was a national moment to show what it can do."