UAE Cabinet approves establishment of Council for Digital Economy

The UAE Cabinet met this week and approved a new Digital Economy Strategy that aims to increase the contribution of this sector to the GDP to 20 percent over the next 10 years.

The meeting was chaired by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai and was held at Qasr Al Watan Abu Dhabi.

The UAE Digital Economy Strategy aims to double the contribution of the digital economy to the GDP from 9.7 per cent to 19.4 per cent within the next ten years, according to state news agency WAM.

The strategy includes more than 30 initiatives and programmes targeting six sectors and five new areas of growth. It will define the digital economy, with a unified mechanism for measuring its growth while measuring its indicators periodically.

The Cabinet also approved the establishment of the UAE Council for Digital Economy chaired by Omar bin Sultan Al Olama, Minister of State for Artificial Intelligence, Digital Economy, and Teleworking Applications.

The UAE Council for Digital Economy will support the aim to double the contribution of the digital economy to the UAE’s GDP in the year 2031, and enhances the implementation of the Digital Economy Strategy initiatives in all economic sectors.

.@HHShkMohd: I chaired the Cabinet meeting at Qasr Al Watan Abu Dhabi, where we adopted the #UAE Digital Economy Strategy. Our goal is to increase the contribution of this sector to the GDP by 20% over the next 10 years. pic.twitter.com/nSIqpAqyoQ

— Dubai Media Office (@DXBMediaOffice) April 11, 2022

The contribution of the digital economy to the economic sectors of the UAE’s GDP is 9.7 per cent, and to the non-oil GDP 11.7 per cent.

Apart from the digital economy, a number of other initiatives, strategies and legislations were also adopted during the meeting.

The Cabinet approved a federal law about the public finance which obligates federal authorities to coordinate with the Ministry of Finance to achieve the financial strategy’s objectives approved by the Cabinet.

The Cabinet also approved executive regulation of the federal decree-law on private education aimed at regulating the work of private schools in the country. It aims to strengthen the educational system that regulates the licensing mechanism for private schools, to ensure a high quality of education.

The Cabinet adopted a unified framework to coordinate and organise the humanitarian and development work of the charitable institutions. It includes a guide that organises the seasonal work of all UAE donors concerned with foreign aids, in accordance with international standards. The framework also includes the establishment of coordinating offices in the country’s missions abroad for foreign aid. This will contribute in regulating financial transfers to donors, and the UAE charitable institutions in the beneficiary countries.

The Cabinet furthermore adopted new standards for licensing of Family Therapy professionals, which includes specific criteria and procedures for licensing family counselors and professionals. The decision constitutes a reference for all parties in evaluating documents, qualifications and experiences of professionals, and ensures that the same unified licensing standards are applied nationwide.

The Cabinet also decided to cancel the registration fees in Federal Supplier and Contractor Register, to encourage suppliers to enhance their participation, and increase their registration in the federal government. The decision is expected to positively affect price rates, improve the quality of government services provided, and increase supplier interaction by registering in the federal government’s digital procurement platform.

The Cabinet also restructured of board of trustees of the Higher Colleges of Technology HCT, chaired by Dr. Ahmad Belhoul Al Falasi, Minister of State for Entrepreneurship and SMEs.

The Cabinet meanwhile agreed on the Ministry of Energy and Infrastructure to be the restricting authority for petroleum hazardous materials, entrusted with the issuance of approvals for the import of these materials, and to follow up their circulation.

The Cabinet approved an agreement on linking payment systems between GCC countries; an agreement with Brazil; two agreements with the Denmark; and an agreement with the US.

In another significant decision, the Cabinet approved the country’s accession to the International Partnership for Hydrogen and Fuel Cells in the Economy (IPHE), and approved necessary decisions to implement the provisions of the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) agreement between the UAE government and the US government.

Read: UAE to create new task force for digital economy, minister says