The General Secretariat for Development Planning established in July 2006, is a government body with a legal personality and a budget annexed to the public budget of the country. Its basic objective is to draw up strategic development plans with view to translating the aspirations and outlooks of the Qatar's National Development Vision for 2030 into reality. To this end, the General Secretariat works in close collaboration with relevant parties in other ministries and government bodies, the private sector and the civil society to utilize international ideas and expertise to develop innovative approaches to handle national development challenges.
The General Secretariat for Development Planning was established in July 2006 and it reports directly to H.H Heir Apparant.

Qatar's National Vision 2030
Qatar's National Vision 2030 is a roadmap for the future articulating Qatar's long-term objectives as well as the challenges facing it and the attainable opportunities in the future. It endeavors to balance Qatar's deeply-rooted culture and tradition with modernization and economic growth.
Qatar's National Vision 2030 initiative was launched as a response to the need to create an integration between different development pillars. This initiative is based on Qatar's permanent constitution and broad participation on the part of the competent public and private parties between 2005 and 2007.
Qatar's National Vision is based on four pillars, namely, human development, social development, economic development and environmental development.

National Development Strategy
National development Strategy provides a medium-term framework that helps the country to realize Qatar's National Vision 2030 which is considered to be the general framework through which more detailed strategies and executive plans can be prepared. The national development strategy will be prepared through full partnership with the competent parties from the civil society and the public and private sectors.

The General Secretariat of Development Planning consists of the following departments:

1-Administration of Economic Development :
The Economic Affairs Department is specialized in developing a concept for the comprehensive vision and the general strategic plan for economic development. In addition, it is specialized in assisting the Secretary General regarding the presentation of both the comprehensive vision and the general strategic plan. Furthermore, it is specialized in observing and following the progress of economic development in the state and conducting studies too long-term economic development, economic analysis and economic expectations.

2- Administration of Social Development:
It formulates the comprehensive vision and the general strategic plan for social development in the country and submits them to the competent authorities and involves them in advancing the process of social development in the country and monitors the development of the demographic structure in the country in the fields of education, labor, health and other fields related to the social situation. It also undertakes to prepare studies related to the long-term social development and utilizes the results of official census indexes and analyses in its activities.

3- Administration of Institutional Development:
It takes part in laying down the comprehensive vision and the general strategic plan of development with view to improving the performance of government bodies in the country and conducts studies relevant to improving performance in different stages of the implementation of the strategic plan of development. In addition, it is competent to present proposals regarding the activities and economic domains undertaken by the private sector and extend the necessary support to government bodies regarding preparing the strategy pertinent to each one. It likewise utilizes the results of official census and analyses in its activities and extends the necessary support to government bodies to build their human capacities in the domains of planning and institutional development.

4-Administration of Joint Services:
It has the competence of implementing laws, bills, financial and administrative regulations related to the work of the General Secretariat and performing all the works of its legal affairs and providing it and its administrative units with all their needs as of supplies, machines, sets and services to facilitate their work in coordination with the relevant administrations. It also works to define the needs of different administrations as of human resources, in addition to defining the needs of training courses for the employees of the General Secretariat and implementing these courses and evaluating their effectiveness. The Administration of Joint Services undertakes the works of purchasing and tendering in addition to supervising the implementation of accreditation, auditing revenues and expenses and setting up all the information technology systems and computer use. It is also responsible for maintenance of buildings, facilities and different machinery in coordination with the competent parties.

The General Secretariat has the right to draw the help of the competent technicians, experts, offices or any other competent party to perform its duties and realize its goals and prepare the necessary plans, programs, studies and researches within the scope of its competences.