Approaching the first anniversary of an unjust blockade imposed by the four embargo states (Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain and Egypt) on the State of Qatar, the tragic repercussions of such unjust measures that affected the livelihoods of thousands of citizens and residents are starting to weigh in on the Qatari citizens and their basic human rights.

The beleaguer states didn’t declare or give the justification and motives behind this campaign and confined themselves to the area of general accusations. These countries have addressed Qatar with many accusations, most notably the support of the Qatar to extremist terrorist groups, their support for Iran in facing the Gulf States, destabilising the security of the above-mentioned nations, in addition to the alleged incitement of Bahrain and Egyptian citizens against their governments.

All of the above, which has no basis of truth according to Qatari government statements, which repeatedly denied these lies and accusations attributed to Qatar, these allegations that aim at destabilising the sovereign entity, security and stability of Qatar.

The decision of the countries of the blockade was not limited to severing diplomatic relations with Qatar, imposing a barricade and closing its air and sea access, which extended to prevent any humanitarian contact with Qatar in a unique incident in the Arab world, despite its misery.

These procedures, which were suddenly announced on June 5, 2017, forced Qatari people to leave the three Gulf states within 14 days and prevented any Qatari citizen from re-entering.

These resolutions divided hundreds of families and violated the right of movement, right to education, freedom of opinion, residence and property, as well as denial of religious practice, incitement to violence and hatred, and violations of the right to health, in decisions that violate all human rights principles and standards.

The Qatari position has been clear since the beginning of the siege through non-escalation and the opportunity to contain tension in brotherly relations and Qatar’s readiness to discuss any demand of the blockade states in the framework of a constructive dialogue based on respect for international law and state sovereignty.

Qatar has always regretted the current situation in all international forums. Many countries also expressed their appreciation for the wise and balanced approach that Qatar is using to deal with the events of this crisis from the beginning to the present, under the leadership of Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al Thani, the emir of Qatar, and the cohesion of its people and unity.

Moreover, when we review the achievements of the State internally and externally during this year, we stand before a State that revives the spirit of the past to draw the features of the future.

Thus, on the domestic level, the indicators issued by Qatar and the ranks that it has achieved in all areas throughout the world during this year before and during the siege can prove the determination of the people and their leaders to overcome any obstacles others seek to put in their way in order to discourage Qatar from the dream of growth and development.

Moreover, in the field of energy, the emir inaugurated on February 20 the Laffan II Refinery Project, which comes within the framework of achieving the Qatar National Vision 2030 to reach the ultimate goal of achieving sustainable development and ensuring the continuation of decent living generation after generation.

The Qatari position has been clear since the beginning of the siege through non-escalation and the opportunity to contain tension in brotherly relations

The first production of the offshore Shaheen field, Qatar’s largest offshore oil field and one of the world’s largest offshore oil fields, was also announced.

And because the strong economy is based only on stability and sustainability, Qatar has been ranked one of the world’s lowest crime rates this year.

It has become a prominent centre in global security indicators, ranking first in the Middle East in the low crime rate and the seventh globally.

 In the same index, according to the annual report of the global index of crime of the Encyclopedia of the World Database (Nambio), this is one of the largest and most famous encyclopedias in this area on the internet.

Qatar also topped the list of Middle East and North Africa countries in the World Peace Index for the ninth consecutive year and ranked 30th among the 163 countries included in the London Institute of Economics and Peace report.

Hence, at the level of international relations, bilateral relations between Qatar and its European allies have been strengthened, as well as the strengthening of bilateral relations with the US.

From the heart of the blockade, Hamad International Airport was ranked sixth as the “Best Airport in the World” at the 2017 Skytrax Awards and was awarded the “Best Airport in the Middle East” for the third consecutive year and “Best Employee Service in the Middle East” for the second year in a row, and has been awarded the “Five Star Rating” by Skytrax to become one of only five airports in the world with this rating.

Qatar Airways was named “Best Airline of the Year” for the fourth time in its history.

As part of Qatar’s keenness under the wise leadership of Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al-Thani, the commander-in-chief Armed Forces, and for the continuous development in all branches of the armed forces, this year witnessed the signing of several military cooperation agreements with most of the developed countries in the field of weapon technology and training.

Qatar has supported its defence system in various aspects of cooperation with more than 15 countries around the world, headed by the US, Russia, England and France. A military strategy was also launched between Qatar and Nato.

In March, Qatar launched a five-year development plan focusing on making Qatar more self-reliant in the face of the blockade imposed by four other Arab countries. The 333-page plan, launched by Prime Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Nasser al-Thani, aims to make Qatar 30 per cent self-sufficient in its demand for livestock and 65 per cent demand for fish locally by 2022.

In the shadow of the illegal blockade, Qatar was able to defy all crises in all fields. In April this year, the emir inaugurated the Qatar National Library by putting “the one million book” on the library shelf, which is entitled Al-jamegh Al Sahih min Al-Sunan by Sahih Bukhari, and the history of this book dates to the era of Andalusia.

A year after the unjust blockade, the economy of Qatar was able to prove its resilience in the face of any imposed blockade. It succeeded in overcoming the crisis politically, economically and diplomatically.

Qatar has strengthened its national economy, which has always been at the top of its national priorities, by continuing to diversify sources of income away from oil.

The government is always following the implementation policy by creating a more competitive and more productive economic structure with the involvement of the private sector, which plays an important role in development and construction.

Qatar’s GDP growth is expected to reach 2.8 per cent by the end of 2018, according to the latest World Bank report.

Ali Saad Al-Kharji is ambassador of Qatar.