Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, has set out a nationwide action plan for 2025 to strengthen the family unit, promote Emirati identity and drive advances in artificial intelligence.
Sheikh Mohammed, who is also Vice President, said the three key priorities would be top of the agenda at the government's annual meeting in Abu Dhabi on November 5 and November 6.
Speaking after chairing the latest UAE Cabinet meeting at Qasr Al Watan, he called on “all parties” to help shape the country's strategies in those sectors for the year to come.
Sheikh Mohammed also hailed successful back-to-school plans, as more than a million pupils returned to classrooms last week. He praised the UAE's post-coronavirus economic growth on the global stage and set out efforts to tackle financial crimes during the first ministerial gathering since the summer break.
Economic boost
Sheikh Mohammed approved financial statistics that showed government revenue of Dh546 billion in 2023, with Dh402 billion in expenditure.
“The most important government expenditures were in public security and safety, health, education, economic affairs, social protection, housing and utilities,” Sheikh Mohammed wrote on X.
Sheikh Mohammed said the UAE's resources continue to grow, for the benefit of its people and the economy.
He said the number of companies operating in the Emirates had surged to more than a million by the middle of this year, from 405,000 in the first half of 2020 – at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, representing a rise of 152 per cent.
Sheikh Mohammed said the UAE was ranked fifth in the world in terms of gross domestic product growth and had attracted a record Dh112 billion in direct foreign investment, according to most recent statistics, with the Emirates second only to the US in overseas investments projects.
The Cabinet adopted the National Strategy for Combating Money Laundering, Terrorism Financing and Arms Proliferation, Sheikh Mohammed said.
The policy will help to monitor the practices of financial institutions and virtual asset providers, he added.
Ministers also approved the restructuring of the Supreme Committee for Free Trade Negotiations, headed by the Minister of Economy, and backed the UAE's joining of an international alliance called the Nationally Determined Contributions Partnership, whose goal is to promote sustainable development goals and support measures to adapt to climate change.
