Sheikh Maktoum Bin Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Deputy Ruler of Dubai, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, chaired the seventh meeting of the UAE’s federal General Budget Committee.

The meeting was attended by Sheikh Mansour Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the Presidential Court;  Sheikh Abdullah Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation; Mohamed Hadi Al Hussaini, Minister of State for Financial Affairs; and Khaled Mohamed Balama, Governor of the Central Bank of the UAE (CBUAE); in addition to representatives of the Ministry of Finance.

The General Budget Committee discussed several topics, including federal cash flow for financial years 2022-2023, in light of the actual expenditures and revenues during the current financial year and the expected revenues.

The Committee also discussed the federal budget for the financial year 2023 in light of recent developments and the Ministry of Finance’s updated procedures for developing the federal general budget in accordance with the UAE’s Federal Law No. (26) of 2019 on the public budget.

The Committee also issued directives to the Ministry of Finance to proceed with drafting the 2023 federal budget before presenting it to the UAE Cabinet for approval. The Committee also reviewed and issued the necessary directives regarding federal entities’ requests for additional funding for 2022.

UAE to host ISO Annual Meeting: The UAE is set to host the Annual Meeting of the International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO) 2022 at the ADNOC Business Centre in Abu Dhabi from 19th to 23rd September, 2022.

Organised by the Ministry of Industry and Advanced Technology (MoIAT), the event will take place in the presence of Ulrika Francke, President of the ISO, along with more than 2,000 delegates, including officials and representatives of national standardisation bodies, as well as experts and technicians from 163 countries participating in-person or virtually.

Holding the meeting in the UAE for the second time reaffirms the country’s support for and application of best practices in standardisation and its alignment with international standards. The UAE won the bid to host the meeting following the ISO’s 2019 Annual Meeting in Cape Town, South Africa, where the UAE received 64 votes and Denmark received 44. The outcome of the vote reflects the UAE’s leading global role in the field of standardisation and the ISO members’ confidence in MoIAT’s ability to host this meeting. It also highlights the UAE’s efforts to complement international standards to strengthen the industrial sector, support global competitiveness indices, and enhance development goals through advanced and sustainable quality infrastructure.

The annual meeting, the most crucial event in ISO’s calendar, will highlight the UAE’s leading regional and international role in standardisation. It will also reflect its capabilities in quality infrastructure and highlight its Make in the Emirates campaign. This campaign signals a new phase of enabling and stimulating the industrial sector, driven partly by the quality infrastructure ecosystem, which is a fundamental pillar of the National Strategy for Industry and Advanced Technology. Quality infrastructure is also vital to creating a conducive and attractive business environment for local and international investors, supporting national industry, and enhancing its competitiveness in local and international markets.

The Make it in the Emirates campaign supports national efforts to enhance the competitiveness of local products regionally and internationally and meet the requirements of the business sector and consumers in terms of products and services, in line with the nation’s efforts to boost bilateral trade as part of its bilateral agreements with countries around the world.

The event will include several discussions focused on specialised topics. Several UAE government officials, private sector representatives, and experts will participate in the sessions alongside MoIAT’s participants, who include Sarah bint Yousef Al Amiri, Minister of State for Public Education and Advanced Technology; Omar Al Suwaidi, Under-Secretary of the Ministry of Industry and Advanced Technology; and Dr Farah Ali Al-Zarouni, Acting Assistant Under-Secretary for the Standards and Legislation Sector at the Ministry of Industry and Advanced Technology.

Regional and international standardisation experts will also participate in specialised sessions that highlight the role of standards in boosting competitiveness and supporting SDGs.

MoIAT represents the UAE in the ISO as it is responsible for issuing standards and technical and metrological regulations through technical committees and expert taskforces.

WAM