Sheikh Mohammed reviews UAE Cabinet’s achievements; outcome of 2023

His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai chaired the UAE Cabinet’s meeting at Qasr Al Watan, Abu Dhabi, in the presence of His Highness Sheikh Mansour Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Vice President, Deputy Prime Minister and Chairman of the Presidential Court; Sheikh Maktoum Bin Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Deputy Ruler of Dubai, Deputy Prime Minister, and Minister of Finance; and Lt. General Sheikh Saif Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior.
Sheikh Mohammed said: “I chaired at Qasr Al Watan, Abu Dhabi, the UAE Cabinet’s first meeting of the year 2024. We reviewed the work we accomplished during the year 2023. We also approved the Cabinet’s work plan for 2024, which will focus on implementing the national priorities announced by my brother President of the UAE His Highness Sheikh Mohamed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan on the Union Day. We gave our directives to all federal government entities to implement governmental plans, initiatives and projects that serve the national priorities announced by His Highness.”
Sheikh Mohammed added: “During the meeting, we reviewed what was achieved in various national sectors during 2023, mainly regarding our top priority sectors: the UAE nationals’ housing and the Emiratisation of employment. In the housing, more than 4,300 decisions were issued regarding UAE nationals’ housing support, with a total worth of Dhs3.2 billion. The Emiratis’ home-ownership rate, including all national housing programmes, grew to 90%, which is the second highest home-ownership rate in the world. In the Emiratisation sector, Nafis programme, thanks to the follow up of my brother Sheikh Mansour Bin Zayed, successfully increased the total number of the UAE nationals working in the private sector to approximately 92,000. And yet, these two sectors will remain at the centre of our continuous follow up.”

Sheikh Mohammed said: “In the economy sector, our non-oil GDP witnessed a significant growth scoring a rate of 5.9% during the first nine months of the year only. The UAE was ranked first globally in more than 215 indexes related to development, economy and human capital, according to international reports.”
His Highness added: “During the Cabinet’s meeting, we reviewed the accomplishments of the legislative plan of 2023. A total of 73 federal laws were issued in 2023, including 10 laws issued for the first time in the country as part of the legislative system, with the participation of 1,500 specialists along with 50 governmental teams. Additionally, the Cabinet approved 60 national policies and strategies and 62 international agreements. Therefore, the year 2023 was, in terms of the legislative achievements, the most active year in the country’s history.
Sheikh Mohammed concluded by saying: “The year 2023 was exceptional, under the leadership of my brother Sheikh Mohamed Bin Zayed, along with his deputies and brothers. It was a year during which the UAE witnessed unprecedented economic growth, massive global political presence, scientific advancement, new educational and healthcare developments. The year 2024 will be a new opportunity to achieve further development achievements with greater momentum in all sectors.”
During the meeting, the Cabinet reviewed a report on the outcome of its work during the year 2023, featuring the main strategies, policies, legislation and resolutions issued by the Cabinet during the last 12 months.
Sheikh Mohammed assured that the Federal Government’s priorities for the year 2024 will remain consistent with the general directions of the Union declared by President His Highness Sheikh Mohamed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, on the 52nd Union Day, which includes: consolidating the characteristics of the Emirati identity locally and globally; the UAE is constantly exploring novelty and creativity; We rely on education to achieve progress, as our position in the future will be determined by how progressed we are in the sector of education; Sustainability will continue to be part of our culture, practices and the lifestyle in our country.
1,030 government resolutions in various key sectors
During 2023, the UAE Cabinet and the Ministerial Development Council held 23 meetings, issued 1,030 government resolutions in various key sectors. The increase in resolutions number exceeded 100% compared to the year 2014. Main outcomes of the Cabinet’s efforts in the year 2023 included the issuance of 60 national policies and strategies, 73 federal laws, more than 125 executive regulations and resolutions and the signing of 62 international agreements.
The UAE nationals housing and supporting Emiratisation programmes are top priorities
The housing of the UAE nationals has always been a top priority for the UAE government. The Cabinet has issued new policies and initiatives to raise the housing aid for Emiratis. As a result, the Sheikh Zayed Housing Programme issued more than 4,300 housing aid decisions in 2023, compared to 1,241 decisions in 2021. The increase rate surpassed 250%, with a total value exceeding Dhs3.2 billion, compared to Dhs1 billion in 2021. Since their launch until 2023, federal and local governments housing programmes have provided more than 180 thousand housing aid with a total value exceeding Dhs212 billion. Consequently, the percentage of the UAE nationals who own their house reached 90%. The federal government continued its efforts in supporting Emiratisation programmes. Under the directives of Sheikh Mansour Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Vice President, Deputy Prime Minister and Chairman of the Presidential Court; and the follow-up of Sheikh Abdullah Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Chairman of the Education and Human Resources Council (EHRC), new policies and resolutions were issued in 2023 supporting Emiratisation programmes and objectives. These programmes and efforts led to a significant increase in the number of UAE nationals joining the labour market estimated by more than 150%, since the launch of Nafis to date, while the total number of Emiratis employees in the private sector surpassed 92,000 employees.Additionally, the government continued to improve the efficiency of the labour market by launching the Emirates Labour Market Award and adopting the Optional Alternative Voluntary End of Service System.
Key initiatives in transport, infrastructure and space sectors
To enhance the competitiveness of the industrial sector and encourage domestic industries, the Cabinet issued important initiatives. To name few: “Made in UAE” label initiative, the Industrial Technology Transformation Index (ITTI), a UAE system for unmanned aerial vehicles (drones), reducing fees for industrial companies registered in the National In-Country Value Programme, issuing a variety of standard technical regulations for key industries and enhancing the quality of products manufactured in the UAE.
Since the UAE has set foot in planet Mars, the Cabinet issued many programmes to enhance leadership in the space sector, mainly: launching the Emirates Mission to the Asteroid Belt, establishing the National Space Fund, joining the international cooperation in the peaceful use of outer space, and regulating permits for space-related activities and space resources. The Cabinet also issued a set of policies to enhance the country’s readiness to tackle the challenges in cyberspace.
62 international agreements and key global headquarters based in the UAE
To maintain and strengthen the UAE’s leading position globally, the Cabinet ratified or signed 62 international agreements related to economy, finance, justice, security and defence, aviation and humanitarian action sectors. The UAE became the host to headquarters of many regional and international organizations, including: the regional hub of the Islamic Development Bank Group, the regional office of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank. The Cabinet also approved the UAE joining the IMF’s Resilience and Sustainability Trust and the Poverty Reduction and Growth Trust (PRGT).
In government affairs, the UAE Cabinet approved 54 recommendations submitted by the Federal National Council linked to regulating private higher education sector, sustainability of electricity and water services, regulating labour market, volunteering work, as well as supporting and developing sports sector.
Significant growth rates in GDPThe non-oil GDP (at constant prices) of the first nine months of the year 2023 witnessed a significant growth rate of 5.9% compared to the same period of the previous year. Transport and storage activities topped the growth at a rate of 12.1% compared to the corresponding period a year ago. This was attributed to the significant increase in passenger numbers; During the period under review, the country’s airports achieved its highest passengers’ trafic.
Accommodation and food service activities ranked second; It grew by 11.6%, influenced by the growing numbers of visitors to tourist destinations and international events hosted by the UAE.