His Highness Shaikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, has praised the directives of the President, His Highness Shaikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, to review the applied programmes in the various government departments to ensure the happiness and welfare of citizens.
Shaikh Mohammed’s comments came during the Cabinet’s meeting at the Presidential Palace here on Sunday as they discussed the second report of the UAE Government review. “While evaluating the federal government review, we are aspired to learn from our experiences and prepare ourselves to serve this country,” Shaikh Mohammed said.
“Since the very beginning, Shaikh Khalifa has been following up our work continually. Our priorities are the happiness and welfare of the citizens as they are the way and final objective of our development plans; moreover, innovation in the development of government work is limitless,” Shaikh Mohammed said in the introduction of the report.
Shaikh Mohammed added: “We learned from our previous experiences that government’s strategies and plans require a clear vision. Initiating from this concept, we directed our teams to build on the vision that the United Arab Emirates will be one of the best countries in the world by 2021.”
Addressing the Cabinet, Shaikh Mohammed said: “We would like review our work every now and then because we expect our government to be number one in everything; we want to increase our competitiveness in every sector.” Shaikh Mohammed explained that the world is changing and developing, and the development plans taking place in the UAE require continuous revision to keep up with ambitions and expectations.
Shaikh Mohammed said: “The past four years were not just full with achievements, but challenges as well. Again, the United Arab Emirates had proven that the hard work and dedication will benefit the country and the nation.”
During the meeting, the Cabinet reviewed the second UAE Government review 2010-2013. The report follows the first edition that covered the period 2006-2009. Composed of eight chapters, the report reviews the federal government activities in social development, economic development, foreign policies, government development, security and justice, infrastructure, environment and citizen and development.
The Cabinet has also approved the re-appointment of Board of Emirates Investment Authority for three years. The board is chaired by Shaikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Presidential Affairs; and Vice-Chairman Mohammed Abdullah Al Gergawi, Minister of Cabinet Affairs; Sultan bin Saeed Al Mansouri, Minister of Economy; Obaid Humaid Al Tayer, Minister of State for Financial affairs; and a number of experts are its members.
It also restructured the Human Resources Development Committee in Banking and Financial Sector under chairmanship of Humaid Mohammed Obeid Al Qattami, Minister of Education. The act comes in compliance with the leadership’s Emiratisation agenda aiming to build and develop national capabilities in various sectors including banking and finance.
The Cabinet has also approved several rules and regulations and amended number of laws. Moreover, the Cabinet has agreed to host the World Congress on Communication for Development 2014.
It endorsed a number of recommendations from the Federal National Council (FNC) on policy of the National Media Council on boosting the media laws in the UAE. They included training of national cadres and emiratisation of media posts nationwide.
The Cabinet approved the request of the FNC to discuss the policy of the Ministry of Health in a drive to upgrade the health system.
In the field of international agreements, the Cabinet has approved number of cooperation, commercial, economic and judicial agreements with Japan, Benin, Morocco, Armenia and Hungary in addition to an investment protection agreement with India.
The Cabinet has also approved number of air transport agreements with Afghanistan, El Salvador and Burkina Faso.
The meeting was attended by Lt. General Shaikh Saif bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior; and Shaikh Mansour bin Zayed.
On the sidelines of the Cabinet session, Shaikh Mohammed and ministers registered in the e-portal project. They were briefed about the work mechanism of e-portal, which speeds up travel procedures for citizens, expatriates and visitors with entry visas, while departing or entering into the country.
Earlier the Ministry of Interior conducted the media campaign to educate public about the benefits of e-portals.