Sheikh Mohammed commissions post-Covid-19 UAE development strategy

Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai instructed ministers, undersecretaries and members of the executive council to develop a post Covid-19 development strategy for both the short-term and long-term in order to reactivate economic activity across the country.

During the virtual cabinet meeting, he invited local, regional and international experts to participate in the planning process and to help with solutions and suggestions.

The meeting approved a number of decisions and legislations aimed at developing the federal government work and the establishment of framework for a comprehensive post Covid-19 strategy, reported official news agency WAM.

“Our national priorities need to reviewed to cope with the post-Covid-19 world. Our financial and human resources need to be redirected to strengthen our medical, food and economic security through new programmes and projects,” said Sheikh Mohammed.

.@HHShkMohd: Today I chaired a cabinet meeting, in which we issued directives to draft a post-COVID-19 UAE development strategy and to hold intensive federal & local government meetings to highlight key changes & identify our development objectives & our upcoming agenda. #UAE pic.twitter.com/2CtfXmtutA

— Dubai Media Office (@DXBMediaOffice) May 3, 2020

He also ordered an emergency plan to be developed to increase the productivity and competitiveness of the medical sector as part of preparation for the post-COVID-19 era in the country.

To that end, the cabinet agreed to form a new task force under the Ministry of Economy.

“New teams are required to work faster, more thoroughly and more responsively to the fast-changing daily developments,” he said.

He added that no one predicted as recently as a few months ago that preparing for a post-Covid-19 world would be a part of the agenda.

Sheikh Mohammed also said that intensive government meetings would be held to discuss new changes and identify development goals and agenda for the upcoming period.

“A whole new world is waiting for us and this new world needs new tools and new priorities. Our country will be ready and we will recover very soon,” said Sheikh Mohammed.

The meeting was attended by Lt. General Sheikh Saif bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the Interior, and Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Presidential Affairs.

As part of the country’s measures to strategise for the post Covid-19 era, on April 21, the UAE cabinet chaired by Sheikh Mohammed approved a new draft law on national security that “guarantees the protection of society in case of disasters and any healthcare, economic and environmental threats to our country.”

Read: Sheikh Mohammed approves draft of new UAE national security law

As part of the national security draft law, he approved the formation of a team, headed by the UAE’s minister of state for food security and members of the public and private sector, to develop the modern agriculture sector in the country and to use technology to expand food production and create sustainable agriculture.

The new law also authorised government buildings in the UAE to be repurposed into medical facilities to deal with cases arising from the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic.