Sheikh Mohammed restructures Dubai government; approves five-year foreign trade plan

During a meeting of the Dubai Council on Tuesday, several significant resolutions were adopted including a restructuring of the Dubai government, appointing senior officials within the emirate’s administration and approving a five-year plan to increase Dubai’s foreign trade from Dhs1.4 trillion to Dhs2 trillion .

The meeting was chaired by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of UAE and Ruler of Dubai.

“The new resolutions seek to raise Dubai’s status as a global economic and investment hub and improve the quality of life for our citizens and residents,” said Sheikh Mohammed.

Dubai Chamber
The Council has decided to restructure Dubai Chamber and create three new chambers of commerce: Dubai Chamber, Dubai Chamber of International Trade and Dubai Chamber of Digital Economy.

“We will form three new chambers of commerce in Dubai, which will include the Chamber of International Trade that will work to support the interests of international companies based in Dubai, and the Chamber of Digital Economy that will seek to leverage technological trends of the future to promote growth and innovation,” said Sheikh Mohammed.

Second: we will form 3 new chambers of commerce in Dubai that will include Chamber of International Trade to support the interests of international companies based in Dubai, and Chamber of Digital Economy to meet the growing technological trends of the future. pic.twitter.com/etI0oWRVHQ

— HH Sheikh Mohammed (@HHShkMohd) March 23, 2021

Sheikh Mohammed announced the appointment of Juma Al Majid as the Honorary Chairman of Dubai Chamber, Abdulaziz Al Ghurair as the Chairman of Dubai Chamber, Sultan bin Sulayem as Chairman of Dubai Chamber of International Trade and Omar Al Olama as Chairman of Dubai Chamber of Digital Economy.

A higher committee, led by Abdulaziz Al Ghurair, will be formed with the three chairmen to develop a new strategic plan for the three chambers.

The new Dubai Chamber of International Trade will expand Dubai’s foreign trade and support its vision of expanding to new global markets, grow economic partnerships and support local companies in finding global markets, while attracting global talent and investors from all over the world too. Members of the Dubai Chamber of International Trade will include businessmen, entrepreneurs and investors.

The Dubai Chamber of Digital Economy is tasked with launching projects and developing studies on the new future economy, as part of efforts to build the world’s best digital infrastructure and transform Dubai into an international technology hub.

With the objective of promoting the interests of technology companies and advancing the role of the digital economy in the emirate, the new chamber will build a network of relationships with local and international tech entrepreneurs and investment funds. It will also help draft legislations in Dubai and the UAE to create an attractive environment that advances the digital economy. Members of the chamber will include technology entrepreneurs and investors.

Dubai government
Dubai officials and heads will now need to sign three-year binding contracts that outline outcomes, duties and work accountability.

“We have directed a complete restructuring of the Government of Dubai to be more agile, efficient and adaptive to the rapidly-changing world as we enter a new phase,” said Sheikh Mohammed.

Sixth: Dubai officials and department heads will sign 3-year binding contracts that will define expected outcomes and work structure. We will work together towards our next development journey. pic.twitter.com/vsPXrWw5Em

— HH Sheikh Mohammed (@HHShkMohd) March 23, 2021

“All departments will work closely with each other to achieve our aims in the next phase of our development journey.”

Read: Sheikh Mohammed launches mega Dubai 2040 urban development plan

Among the ambitious roadmap charted for the next phase of development is the recently-announced Dubai 2040 urban development strategy. Nature reserves and rural natural areas will constitute 60 per cent of the emirate’s total area, while land used for hotels and tourist activities will increase by 134 per cent. It also involves increasing the land area allocated to education and health facilities by 25 per cent, and increasing the length of public beaches by up to 400 per cent in 2040. The Dubai Urban Master Plan is focused on development and investment in five main urban centres – three existing and two new centres.

He stressed on the need to unify the efforts of all Dubai entities over the next phase to support the future growth of the city and carry out major planned projects and initiatives.

Five-year foreign trade plan
During the meeting, the Council approved a five-year foreign trade plan for Dubai.

“We approved a new global trade map for Dubai that establishes routes to over 400 cities around the world, and we aim to expand this network to 200 additional cities to reinforce the UAE’s pivotal role as an international business hub,” said Sheikh Mohammed.

Fifth: We adopted a 5-year plan to increase Dubai’s foreign trade from AED1.4 trillion to AED2 trillion. We have deployed the necessary resources to implement our plan. pic.twitter.com/qfa2miTdwr

— HH Sheikh Mohammed (@HHShkMohd) March 23, 2021

“We adopted a five-year plan to increase Dubai’s foreign trade from Dhs1.4 trillion to Dhs2 trillion. We have deployed all the resources necessary to implement our plan.”

The five-year plan will boost Dubai’s status as an international business hub, with a special foreign trade focus on high-growth markets including Latin America, Africa and Asia.

New plans and procedures will be created to support Dubai’s trade and further enhance the attractiveness of its business environment.