Qatar reshuffles cabinet, boards of Qatar Petroleum and Qatar Investment Authority

DOHA (Reuters) – Qatar on Sunday, the head of the largest bank in the world, and the most important changes in the economy.

It was the first government reshuffle in Qatar, the world's top liquefied natural gas producer, since early 2016, but diplomats and analysts said the changes did not represent a significant shift in power in the world's largest liquefied natural gas exporter.

Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Bahrain and Egypt since June 2017. They accuse Qatar of backing terrorism and cosying up to Iran. Doha denies the charges and says the boycott aims to impinge on its sovereignty.

Qatar Petroleum (QP) and Qatar Investment Authority (QIA), the world's largest sovereign wealth fund with $ 300 billion in assets.

Qatar National Bank (QNB) CEO Ali Ahmed al-Kuwari has been appointed to a new portfolio which combined trade and industry under one ministry.

Saad al-Kaabi, the chief executive of QP, was appointed Minister of State for Energy Affairs and also of the Ministry of Environment and Justice.

Western diplomats and analysts did not see the shake-up as a guideline of a shift in policy almost 18 months since the beginning of the regional rift, which Qatar has weathered with new trade routes and surplus this year.

"The cabinet shuffle was expected to come back, but was apparently on the back of the band, and the ramifications have been successfully dealt with," said Majed al-Ansari, an analyst and professor of political sociology. at Qatar University.

"It does not signal a change in policy or power shift in the government," he said.

It was not clear that Kuwari would retain his post at QNB, the Middle East's largest lender by assets. The bank, which is 50 percent owned by the country's sovereign wealth fund, did not immediately respond to Reuters' request for comment.

QP's Al-Kaabi, a U.S.-educated engineer, rose through the ranks to become chief executive in 2014 and also sits on the board of the Qatar Investment Authority.

He has gained a reputation among executives of the world's energy majors, such as Exxon (XOM.N), Shell (RDSA.L) and Total (TOTF.PA), have a reliable counterpart for energy projects that have made the tiny nation of 2.6 million people the biggest exporter of liquefied natural gas (LNG) on the planet.

Abdulla Abdulaziz Al Subaie was appointed minister of the environment and a post-coup 2022 World Cup. Subsequently, it has been appointed as managing director and CEO of Qatar Rail, which expects to launch Doha's first metro line this year.

A separate decree on Sunday appointed Mohammed Bin Hamad Al-Thani chairman of the Qatar Financial Markets Authority as part of a shuffle to its board of directors.