Newly reshuffled Cabinet meets, stresses commitment to national priorities

The UAE’s newly-reshuffled Cabinet, presided over by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, met today for the first time and discussed government-related issues.

His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid said the UAE Government, under the leadership of His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the UAE, had made progress in all fields and has started a new phase of government work after endorsing the new cabinet of the UAE Federal Government to shape the future. "The Emirati is at the core of our daily work and the end goal of improving government sector is to serve Emiratis," His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid added.

His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid opened the meeting welcoming the new ministers and praised former ministers for their efforts: "In the past decade, the performance of the UAE Government has been a source of pride and full of achievements. The coming decade will need to double the effort and achieve more progress in services and development," His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid added.

His Highness underscored the coming phase will have different national priorities: "We have a number of national priorities to address such as youth, knowledge development, community development, climate change, future trends, post-oil phase.

We will develop new innovative mechanism to address them. Our real success will be measured by people’s satisfaction and make their lives easier because the post is a responsibility in front of Allah and the people. And every one is responsible."

His Highness Sheikh Mohammed urged ministers: "I would like from you all to present a 100-day work plan, especially for the new ministries and those which had many changes. Our goal is to expedite progress. Today, countries and governments are measured not by size but by its speed. I want you to be in the field with the people, addressing challenges and hammering out solutions and make a real change in government work."

On the other hand, the Cabinet endorsed decrees by which to restructure the Ministerial Council for Services and rename it as the Ministerial Development Council (MDC), setup new government foundations and councils reporting to the Cabinet, following the recently announced cabinet reshuffle. They include Education and Human Resources Council, Emirates Youth Council, Emirates Scientists Council, Emirates Health Services Corporation and Emirates School Education Corporation.

His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid said: "the new Corporations and councils will be a vital contribution to the government to achieve our national aspirations."

The Ministerial Development Council The UAE Cabinet endorsed restructuring the Ministerial Development Council (MDC), chaired by H.H. Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Presidential Affairs and the following members: 1.    Mohammad bin Abdullah Al Gergawi, Minister of Cabinet Affairs and The Future, Deputy Chairperson; 2. Sultan bin Saeed Al Mansouri, Minister of Economy; 3. Dr. Abdul Rahman bin Mohammad bin Nasser Al Owais, Minister of Health and Prevention; 4.    Saqr bin Ghubash Saeed Ghubash, Minister of Human Resources and Emiratisation; 5.    Suhail bin Mohammed Faraj Al Mazrouei, Minister of Energy; 6.    Dr. Abdullah bin Mohammed Belhaif Al Nuaimi, Minister of Infrastructure Development; 7.    Sultan bin Saeed Al Badi, Minister of Justice; 8.    Hussain bin Ibrahim Al Hammadi, Minister of Education; 9.    Najla bint Mohammad Al Awar, Minister of Community Development; 10.    Dr. Thani bin Ahmed Al-Zeyoudi, Minister of Climate Change and Environment; 11.    Dr. Anwar bin Mohammed Gargash, Minister of State for Foreign Affairs; 12.    Obaid bin Humaid Al Tayer, Minister of State for Financial Affair; 13.    Jameela bint Salem Al Muhairi, Minister of State for Public Education; 14.    Dr. Ahmad bin Abdullah Humaid Belhoul Al Falasi, Minister of State for Higher Education; and 15. Noura bint Mohammed Al Kaabi, Minister of Federal National Council Affairs.

Education and Human Resources Council The Cabinet endorsed setting up the Education and Human Resources Council to be chaired by His Highness Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation. The Council will align education and human resources policies in the UAE to ensure education outputs are suitable with market demands and future trends. It will also provide advice on draft laws and policies related to education and local human resources. The Council will propose programmes to equip generations able to meet job market demands and will coordinate efforts with Ministry of Education and Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation as well as relevant entities.

The Education and Human Resources Council will have the following members: Saqr Ghubash, Minister of Human Resources and Emiratisation; Hussain Al Hammadi, Minister of Education; Sultan Al Mansouri, Minister of Economy; Najla Al Awar, Minister of Community Development; Jameela Al Muhairi, Minister of State for Public Education; Dr. Ahmad Belhoul Al Falasi, Minister of State for Higher Education; and Shamma Al Mazrui Minister of State for Youth.

Emirates Youth Council The Cabinet endorsed setting up the Emirates Youth Council to be chaired by Her Excellency Shamma Al Mazrui, Minister of State for Youth. The Council will develop youth-related strategies that are aligned with future trends in the UAE, identify challenges facing youth and provide solutions. It will also develop programmes that ensure positive participation of young people in the community in various sectors and learn about young people’s views about related issues and ensure their contribution in boosting national identify and good citizenship among young people.

The council members are: Meera Hesham Al Muhairi, Maryam Saleem Al Bastaki, Fatima Mohammed Al Joker, Meera Faisal Marzooqi, Shorooq Ali Al Dhanhani, Dubai Abdullah Bulhoul, Kaltham Yousif Al Ali, Mohammed Ibrahim Al Hajri, Ali Ibrahim Al Nuaimi, Mohammed Abdullah Al Kendi, Saeed Mohammed Al Nazari, Mohammed Najeeb Essa, Mohammed Sagheer Al Dhaheri.

Emirates Scientists Council The UAE Cabinet endorsed setting up the Emirates Scientists Council and to be chaired by Sara Al Amiri, Deputy Project manager and Science Lead at UAE Mars Mission at The Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Centre. The Council will provide recommendations to the Cabinet related to future scientific trends as well as the strategy of the National Science and Innovation, nurtures research and development. It will foster cooperation among research and scientific entities in government and the private sector. It will also develop partnership with local and international entities to share knowledge and expertise.

The council members are: Ahmed Al Harthi, Dr. Ahmed Murad Al Raisi, Dr. Faisal Abdulla AlMarzooqi, Dr. Ali Hilal Al Naqbi, Mohammad Matar Al Shamsi, Ghaleb Ali Al Breiki, Dr. Habiba Al Safar, Mohammad AbdulAziz Sultan Al Olama, Amani Al Hosani, Dr. Arif Sultan Al Hammadi.

Emirates Health Services Corporation The Cabinet endorsed setting up the Emirates Health Services Corporation to operate and manage federal hospitals, centres and health facilities. It will set criteria and standards to ensure quality performance among health facilities, ensure accreditation.

The Emirates Health Services Corporation aims to leverage the competitiveness of government health services. Under its umbrella, The Corporation will have all health facilities currently run by the Ministry of Health and Prevention. The Corporation will have a board, Director-General appointed by a Cabinet Decree.

Emirates School Education Corporation The Cabinet also endorsed setting up The Emirates School Education Corporation to operate federal schools and kindergarten per the policy set by the Ministry of Education. It supervises operating all federal schools across the UAE, develop strategies to regulate its operation and performance monitoring and evaluation.

The Corporation will provide training to education cadre to improve the sector across the UAE by tailoring and implementing education training progammes and initiatives to improve education quality in schools and kindergarten. It will also setup a unified-student database and manage its records. Under its umbrella, the Corporation will have all federal schools currently run by the Ministry of Education. It will have a board, a Director-General to be appointed by a Cabinet Decree.

The UAE Cabinet held its meeting at the Presidential Palace and was attended by H.H. Sheikh Saif bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior, and HH Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Presidential Affairs.

Source: WAM