UAE cabinet approves housing loans budget of Dhs12bn for Sheikh Zayed Housing Programme

The UAE cabinet on Monday, February 28, approved a housing loan budget of Dhs12bn for the Sheikh Zayed Housing Programme.

The meeting held at Expo 2020 Dubai, was chaired by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai.

“I chaired a cabinet meeting today, where we adopted a housing loans budget of Dhs12bn for the Sheikh Zayed Housing Programme during the coming years. The aim is to fulfil accumulated and expected requests and reduce the waiting period over the coming years,” said Sheikh Mohammed.

The cabinet also approved a new policy for the classification of businesses in the private sector, according to a specific mechanism that enhance the flexibility and competitiveness of the labour market, according to news agency WAM.

.@HHShkMohd chairs the UAE Cabinet meeting held at @expo2020dubai; approves housing loans budget of AED 12 billion for Sheikh Zayed Housing Programme during the coming years. #UAE pic.twitter.com/tpxHfIvhvz

— Dubai Media Office (@DXBMediaOffice) February 28, 2022

The cabinet also adopted a decision to update the conditions and controls for classifying the occupational levels of employment in the labour market, to enhance competitiveness of the labour market in the country. Employment will be classified according to the nine occupational levels according to the International Standard Classification of Occupations (ISCO) issued by the International Labour Organization.

The Cabinet approved a decision to provide protection for labour rights in the UAE’s labor market. It aims to ensure developing integrated system for alternatives to employment insurance, contributing in protecting labour rights, providing more feasible benefits for employment and reducing the financial burden on many establishments.

Emirates Council for Balanced Development
The meeting approved a resolution to form the Emirates Council for Balanced Development, chaired by Sheikh Theyab bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Chairman of the Abu Dhabi Crown Prince’s Court and member of the Abu Dhabi Executive Council. The Council will oversee the management of projects, coordinating with relevant ministries and local authorities on regions development plans, following up the implementation of initiatives, and approving the proposed areas of partnership with the private sector, especially national companies.

The council members include Dr Sultan bin Ahmed Al Jaber, UAE Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology; as a Vice Chair; Suhail Mohamed Al Mazrouei, the Minister of Energy and Infrastructure; Hessa Bint Essa Buhumaid, Minister of Community Development; Dr Ahmad Belhoul Al Falasi, Minister of State for Entrepreneurship and SMEs; Rashid Saeed Al Ameri, Under-Secretary of the Ministry of Presidential Affairs for Government Coordination Sector; Saeed Mohammad Al Eter, Chair of the UAE Government Media Office; Saeed Al Zaabi, Advisor at Abu Dhabi Crown Prince’s Court; Ahmed Taleb AlShamsi, CEO of Emirates Foundation; and Shadi Malak, CEO at Etihad Railway.

During the meeting, the UAE cabinet also adopted an Emirati ecosystem to promote principles of tolerance and coexistence in working environments of all institutions of both government and private sectors.

The UAE cabinet adopted a series of Emirati Technical regulations in several production and services sectors, aiming at unifying legislations and specifications with GCC and different countries around the world.

The cabinet also approved a decision regarding the executive regulation of Federal Law regarding the Rules and Certificates of Origin, the executive regulation of Federal Law regarding trademarks, the executive regulation of Federal Law on Copyrights and Related Rights, and the modification of the executive regulation of Federal Law on the Regulation of the Auditing Profession.

Regarding the Regulatory Affairs, the UAE Cabinet approved the annual draft budget of the Emirates Investment Authority (EIA) for the fiscal year 2022. Also, the cabinet reviewed the request of the Federal National Council (FNC) to discuss the government policy of water security.