From Our Own Comms Correspondent

We go around the world to explore the wide world of communications and international correspondents provide their take on local issues. Each month we’ll bring you highlighted stories, with more from global communications on Communicate’s iPad edition.

Summer in Qatar usually means a slower pace to what is a frenetic business environment. But this year was different as our correspondent, director at Blue Rubicon Qatar, Kieran Toohey, explains.

Qatar is a country on the move. With the FIFA World Cup just nine years away and the population expanding rapidly, the gas-rich nation has committed around $250 billion to developing infrastructure and services. A new airport and port, along with railways, roads and hospitals are springing up around the capital, Doha. Nevermind the rest of the country, where entire cities − some for up to 300,000 people − are rising from the desert.

It's no surprise then that communication consultants with international experience and an understanding of local culture are needed by Qataris and foreign investors to protect and build reputations…at least for ten months of the year. Normally, the start of the holy month of Ramadan heralds a slower pace to business. Government offices understandably have reduced hours, decisions from clients often take longer and many families, particularly expatriates, leave the summer heat for cooler climes.

But 2013 has been different. In June, Qatar's emir stood aside for his son − 33 year old Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani − who became the Arab world's youngest leader in what was widely described as an orderly and progressive transition. The new emir had been groomed for over a decade, and is an Anglophile like many countrymen and women.

Speculation of a power shift was rife in Doha, but the pace of change still caught many observers − including large investors − by surprise, particularly during what is normally a quieter time of year. As a young, dynamic leader the Emir Sheikh Tamim quickly appointed a new prime minister and several fresh faces to head up ministries − all of whom were quick to assert their authority.

Speculation of a power shift was rife in Doha, but the pace of change still caught many observers − including large investors − by surprise, particularly during what is normally a quieter time of year. As a young, dynamic leader the Emir Sheikh Tamim quickly appointed a new prime minister and several fresh faces to head up ministries − all of whom were quick to assert their authority.

This change − in a city dominated by the public sector − has meant a busy summer for consultants. Holidays have been cut short, stakeholder and audience maps redrawn, joint venture agreements redrafted and communication strategies revised. Analysing the shifting sands is easier said than done in a country where family networks, decades-long relationships and the Majlis system counts for a lot. The nuances of local Arabic − distinct from other countries − is an important factor too. I've lost count of the number of Qataris, and expats for that matter, who've complained about sub-standard linguists and consultants who export London thinking without any regard for Qatar's culture or history. At Blue Rubicon we're focused on having an international view, with local understanding.

There's no denying a new generation of leaders, including for the first time, a woman, will inevitably bring fresh ideas and ways of working in Qatar. For instance, reform of the bureaucracy and greater transparency are emerging as common themes. That said, change − if it happens at all − will be incremental. Qataris and expatriates admire the former emir and his wife, Sheikha Moza, for their remarkable transformation of Qatar from a small country reliant on fishing to one of the world's richest nations per capita. The country's ambitious 2030 national vision for a knowledge economy is so entrenched that it's unlikely to be redrafted.

Whatever happens, it's unlikely to affect expatriate consultants, who are indispensable leading up to 2022.