Doha, October 26 (QNA) - Officials, experts, business representatives and young people called for broadening the indicators underpinning investment decisions to include well-being, inclusion, sustainability and intergenerational equity, alongside gross domestic product (GDP), which they stressed would remain an indispensable key measure.

The call came during a dialogue session held this evening as part of the ongoing World Investment Forum (WIF 2026) in Doha, entitled "Investing Beyond GDP for Sustainable and Inclusive Progress."

The session examined a paradox facing many developing economies: achieving high growth rates while continuing to struggle with unemployment, inequality and poverty.

Discussions drew on UN initiatives, including the UN Secretary-General's report "Valuing What Counts" and the Sevilla Global Alliance for Beyond GDP. Speakers stressed that what is measured determines funding priorities and where money flows.

HE Secretary-General of the National Planning Council Dr. Abdulaziz bin Nasser bin Mubarak Al Khalifa said Qatar had adopted a comprehensive concept of economic growth since launching Qatar National Vision 2030. This is reflected in national development strategies, particularly through efforts to diversify the economy's contribution to GDP.

GDP remains a key measure of economic performance. From the outset, he said, they have ensured that it forms part of a broader vision encompassing individuals, strong institutions and the economy's capacity for sustained growth.

He added that GDP tells us how quickly the economy is progressing and growing, while national planning determines the direction of that growth, who benefits from it and its long-term impact.

Since the launch of Qatar National Vision 2030, he said, they have placed young people and future generations at the heart of their development plans, guided by the principle of intergenerational equity and the goal of transforming natural wealth into lasting prosperity.

Today, he added, by linking national planning, statistics and foresight, they can identify long-term trends and understand how their current decisions will affect the future, ensuring that investment decisions address present needs while providing the foundations for future generations to succeed.

Director-General of the Statistical, Economic and Social Research and Training Center for Islamic Countries (SESRIC) Zahra Zumrut Selcuk said GDP measures the value of production but not people's quality of life, equality of opportunity or resource sustainability.

She identified three statistical challenges facing member states of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation: data availability and quality; comparability and timeliness; and statistical capacity and policy integration.

She proposed monitoring the proportion of young people not in education, employment or training, stressing that the key was to connect economic indicators with human dignity.

HE Secretary-General of the Developing Eight (D-8) Organization for Economic Cooperation Ambassador Soheil Mahmoud said moving towards a broader concept of progress represented a logical evolution from growth to inclusive growth and then sustainable development.

He proposed incorporating the discussion into economic, social and environmental cooperation frameworks, strengthening coordination among planning and statistics bodies, investment promotion agencies and finance ministries, and expanding partnerships with the UN Trade and Development (UNCTAD) and the UN Development Programme (UNDP).

Noting that more than 60 percent of the D-8 countries' populations are under the age of 35, he called for broader measures of progress to be tested through an investment program linking education, artificial intelligence, digital transformation, entrepreneurship and green technologies.

Secretary-General of the Club of Rome Carlos Alvarez Pereira called for a major shift in thinking, beginning with a review of risk-assessment models that fail to account for social and environmental factors.

Warning that the planet has finite resources and that its boundaries are being exceeded, he said reducing risks required embedding investment in communities and their specific circumstances, as development pathways differ from one country to another.

Chairman of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area Entrepreneurs Alliance Dr. Jonathan Choi presented the experience of the Sanwa family group, which has been operating for seven decades.

He explained that the group had previously focused solely on profit before recognizing the importance of job creation and worker training.

He highlighted its investment in a tea farm in Yunnan Province, where it upgraded facilities, trained workers, discontinued the use of chemical fertilizers and obtained European Union food safety certification. After several years, the company became profitable, the village emerged from poverty and the environment improved.

Fatima Mohammed, representing the Youth Beyond GDP Network, expressed her generation's aspirations, saying young people are not only the leaders of tomorrow but also the builders of today.

She called for a seat at the decision-making table and greater opportunities to participate in shaping the future. The session concluded that broadening indicators did not mean abandoning GDP, but rather ensuring that growth served a wider purpose with people at the center of development.

Speakers agreed that this transition required reliable and comparable data, coordination among government entities, stronger South-South partnerships and funding decisions linked to tangible impacts on people's lives and the environment, while involving young people in shaping decisions whose consequences they would live with. (QNA)