Sheikh Mohammed attends UAE Government Annual Meetings in Abu Dhabi.

Gulf Today, Staff Reporter

Chaired by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, the UAE Government Annual Meetings kicked off on Tuesday, in Abu Dhabi in the presence of more than 500 dignitaries, ministers, and senior officials on the federal and local level.

Sheikh Mohammed said: “The current regional situation requires double efforts to maintain our development and economic momentum.”

He further noted: “Our priorities during the next stage are based on 3 main pillars: maintain the UAE’s economic and development momentum; focus on youth; and promote sustainable projects.”

The first day of the UAE Government Annual Meetings 2023 started with an opening speech by Mohammad Bin Abdullah Al Gergawi, Minister of Cabinet Affairs, where he addressed the achievements of UAE during a year of time.

Al Gergawi said that 94% of the 2023 projects and initiatives within the “We the UAE 2031” were achieved. Also, during this year, the UAE ranked among top 10 countries in the Soft Power Index, and topped MENA region in Global Food Security Index."

Al Gergawi noted during his session that this year, the UAE became a member of the BRICS group; ranked fourth globally in terms of international tourist spending, with visitors spending Dh224 billion in the country last year; in addition to recording a new remarkable economic achievement, with non-oil foreign trade recording exceptional growth rates by exceeding Dhs1.239 trillion with a growth of 14.4%.

Maryam Al Hammadi, Minister of State, Secretary General of the UAE Cabinet, reviewed the most significant changes in the UAE's legislative system during 2023, noting the completion of 200 specialised decrees and laws over the past three years.

During a main session, Omar Bin Sultan Al Olama, Minister of State for Artificial Intelligence, Digital Economy, and Remote Work Applications, and Faisal Al Bannai, the Secretary General of the Advanced Technology Research Council reviewed the potentials of the UAE to become a major player in the global AI market.

Also, the first day’s activities witnessed the launching of the new Government Excellence Model (GEM), which intended to reducing the time and effort of the authorities and facilitating the steps and the requirements of the evaluation process.

This came during a session for Marwan Al Zaabi, Director of the Sheikh Khalifa Government Excellence Programme.

Abdulrahman Bin Mohamed Al Owais, Minister of Health and Prevention (MoHAP) discussed during his session a number of transformative projects in the health sector, including early examination system, and a number of primary health services and its funding mechanism.

Abdullah Bin Touq Al Marri, Minister of Economy, and Her Excellency Mariam Bint Mohammed Almheiri, Minister of Climate Change and the Environment, noted that the UAE continues its efforts to expand international cooperation in various development and economic sectors, in order to enhance readiness for the future. This came during a session discussing the development of the UAE’s food economic bloc and its contribution in promoting economic growth.

Sheikh Shakhbout Bin Nahyan Bin Mubarak Al Nahyan, Minister of State discussed during a main session, the most important economic priorities and opportunities with the African continent, noting that the UAE under the vision and guidance of its leadership, is building the strongest and fastest growing economic model.

The first day's agenda also witnessed a session on building an integrated housing complex in partnership with the private sector in a record time.

During the session, Suhail Bin Mohammed Al Mazrouei, Minister of Energy and Infrastructure emphasized that cooperation with the private sector aims to develop integrated housing complexes, at a lower cost and high expeditious completion.

Al Mazrouei noted that the partnership with the private sector will contribute to providing financing solutions that support the issuance of 13,000 housing decisions, worth Dhs11.5 billion, until 2026.

Dr Thani Bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi, the UAE Minister of State for Foreign Trade reviewed the impact of foreign trade agreements on the national economy and the expansion of the UAE’s trade partners’ network through the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement programme, which aims to increase the country’s foreign non-oil trade to Dhs4 trillion by 2031.

During a session entitled "How to double GDP by 2031," Abdulla Bin Touq Al Marri, Minister of Economy, said that the Ministry is working continuously with its partners to doubling the national economy's GDP, particularly in the sectors of circular economy, agrotechnology, fintech, biotechnology, artificial intelligence and space.