UAE’s experience exchange initiative reaches 35 nations

Gulf Today, Staff Reporter

Titled “Partnerships in the Race to Excellence: Leading Transformational Change in Government Administration, the report highlights 35 bilateral partnerships formed by the UAE in government modernization and collaboration since the establishment of the Government Experience Exchange Program in 2018.

This is a practical embodiment of SDG17 - Partnerships for Goals.

Abdulla Nasser Lootah, Deputy Minister of Cabinet Affairs for Experience Exchange and Competitiveness, and Chair of the National Committee for SDGs, presented a copy of the Government Experience Exchange Program report from the UAE to  Amina Mohammed, Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations.

The report enumerates the successful partnerships achieved by the Government Experience Exchange Programme with over 35 countries, providing more than 30 million training hours, training over 3.2 million people, implementing 367 initiatives, and conducting over 2,400 interactive workshops.

Global Partnerships: The GEEP report outlines the timeline of experience exchange partnerships signed by the UAE with the governments of Egypt, Jordan, Costa Rica, Uzbekistan, Senegal, Greece, Iraq, Sudan, Colombia, Kyrgyzstan, Spain, Barbados, Guyana, the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, Maldives, Seychelles, Serbia, Azerbaijan, Rwanda, the Central African Republic, Paraguay, Georgia, Albania, Romania, Turkmenistan, Zimbabwe, Kazakhstan, Malta, Ethiopia, Madagascar, Brunei, Mongolia, Cuba, Uganda, and Bermuda.

Abdullah Nasser Lootah affirmed, “Countries strive to allocate resources and efforts to implement initiatives and projects that ultimately lead to government excellence. This results in numerous and diverse success stories, practices, and innovations that each country pursues to achieve excellence in a particular field. Here lies the importance of having a program like GEEP, a pioneering UAE initiative, as it serves as a global platform for exchanging distinguished experiences and practices in government work for the benefit of all countries and the welfare and happiness of their people.”

Lootah added, “The UAE has achieved numerous and rapid accomplishments in government development within a short period, positioning it prominently on the global stage in this field. Our leadership is keen to share the UAE’s experience with countries across the world to exchange knowledge and best practices, enhancing the UAE’s position as a global partner in finding solutions to current global challenges.”

Members of the UAE delegation showcased practical examples of fruitful and impactful government knowledge exchange partnerships with countries such as Egypt, Kyrgyzstan, Costa Rica, Rwanda, Azerbaijan, and the Maldives, in the presence of representatives from several partner countries within GEEP.

UAE Commitment: Speakers highlighted the common points between the UAE’s GEEP, which operates on over 100 workstreams to enhance governance and accelerate the achievement of national and international agendas of partner countries, and the global goals. These particularly include SDG1 (No poverty), SDG2 (Zero hunger), SDG13 (Climate Action), SDG16 (Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions), and SDG17 (Partnerships for Goals). Participants affirmed the role of knowledge exchange in cementing the UAE’s commitment to building bridges and supporting sustainable development worldwide, leveraging the qualitative achievements the country has made in government excellence and economic development. They noted the importance of exchanging knowledge, experiences, and innovations across various government sectors, institutionalizing best practices, and fostering continuous innovation for sustainable growth at all levels.

Notably, given the significant progress in the government sector in the UAE, the country won the United Nations Public Service Award, the highest global award for government administration, in the 2020 and 2021 award cycles.

A large UAE delegation is participating in the UN HLPF on Sustainable Development, which runs until 17th July. Around 1,000 officials, experts, and specialists from around the world are taking part under the theme “Reinforcing the 2030 Agenda and eradicating poverty in times of multiple crises: the effective delivery of sustainable, resilient and innovative solutions.”