Qatar wealthy enough to withstand blockade: finance minister

Doha is rich enough to be threatened by blockade, Qatar's finance minister Ali Sharif al-Emadi told The Times newspaper on Friday, adding that his country's huge financial reserves from the sale of natural gas over the decades means it can withstand sanctions.

Emadi said Qatar's economic fundamentals are better than that of Saudi Arabia, UAE, Bahrain and Egypt and that despite being downgraded by credit ratings agencies, Doha's financial position remains better than its rivals.

"We have sovereign wealth funds of 250 percent of gross domestic product, we have Qatar Central Bank reserves, and we have a ministry of finance strategic reserve," he said.

"We are the fastest growing country in the region, 40 percent faster than the nearest GCC (Gulf Co-operation Council) country [the UAE].

"Bahrain and Egypt, they are at junk bond level," he said. "If you look at Saudi Arabia, they are having genuine issues with their finances."

Qatar has hit back at threats by the four blockading countries to impose further sanctions on the emirate over its refusal to bow to their ultimatum and accept a 13-point demands list.

In a statement attributed to a senior foreign ministry source, a defiant Qatar said the demands of Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain were defamatory.

"The State of Qatar expressed regret over the content of the two statements issued in Cairo and Jeddah by the four siege countries and the false accusations included in them that amount to defamation in contradiction with the established foundations of international relations," read the statement.

"A senior Foreign Ministry source described the statements' claims about the State of Qatar's interference in internal affairs of countries and financing terrorism as baseless allegations."

In June, the four states announced the severing of all diplomatic ties with Qatar over allegations the emirate allegedly bankrolled Islamist extremists and had close ties with Saudi Arabia's arch-rival Iran. 

Then, on June 22, they issued a list of demands, which includes the shutting down of Doha-based Al-Jazeera channel and the London-based The New Arab, in order to lift the sanctions.

Qatar, which denies being a supporter of extremism, rejects the "unrealistic" demands as an attempt by the Gulf states to undermine the nation's sovereignty.