In Doha the cranes are whirring and the headhunters are still busy, but Ibrahim Ibrahim, an adviser to the emir, says Qatar is taking a break from headlong growth.

As secretary-general of the general secretariat for development planning, Mr Ibrahim’s job title sounds like that of a Soviet functionary. The Qatari government is engaging in central planning on a heroic scale as it manoeuvres through the global crisis but the economic hand dealt the country is the envy of any red-blooded capitalist.