UAE Cabinet approves establishment of UAE Council for Digital Economy

His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President, Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, chaired the UAE Cabinet meeting, which was held at Qasr Al Watan Abu Dhabi.

The meeting was attended by H.H. Sheikh Maktoum bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Deputy Ruler of Dubai, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Finance, and H.H. Lt. General Sheikh Saif bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the Interior.

The meeting approved a number of initiatives, strategies and legislations aiming at further developing UAE government work.

His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum said, “I chaired the Cabinet meeting at Qasr Al Watan Abu Dhabi, where we adopted the UAE Digital Economy Strategy. Our goal is to increase the contribution of this sector to the GDP by 20 percent over the next 10 years. We formed a Council for Digital Economy chaired by Omar bin Sultan Al Olama, Minister of State for Artificial Intelligence, Digital Economy, and Teleworking Applications.”

His Highness added, “During the meeting, we adopted a regulatory framework to support the foreign humanitarian work of the UAE, including the establishment of coordination offices in the country missions. Our Humanitarian work is continuous and the UAE will always remain the capital of generosity and goodness.”

“At the Cabinet meeting, we adopted unified standards for licensing and encouraging family counseling professions. The goal is to increase efficiency and provide families with the best specialists in all family matters. We also approved the restructuring of the Board of Trustees of the Higher Colleges of Technology (HCT), chaired by Dr. Ahmad Belhoul Al Falasi, Minister of State for Entrepreneurship and SMEs. Education needs to be developed continuously, for a better future”, he further said.

His Highness continued, “Also, we adopted a number of international agreements, including an agreement to link the payment systems of the GCC countries, and agreements with the United States, Denmark and Brazil. We approved the country’s accession to the International Partnership for Hydrogen and Fuel Cells in the Economy.”

During its meeting, the Cabinet approved the UAE Digital Economy Strategy, which aims to double the contribution of the digital economy to the GDP from 9.7 percent to 19.4 percent within the next ten years. It also aims to enhance the position of the UAE a hub for digital economy in the region and globally.

The Strategy includes more than 30 initiatives and programmes targeting 6 sectors and 5 new areas of growth. It will define the digital economy in the country, with a unified mechanism for measuring its growth while measuring its indicators periodically. The strategy will define the priorities of digital economy in the country, ensuring the contribution of all other economic sectors to promote and support the digital economy.

The UAE Government Cabinet…