UAE: Ministry of Finance announces strategic plan for 2023-2026

Sheikh Maktoum bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Deputy Ruler of Dubai, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, has launched  the Ministry of Finance’s Strategic Plan 2023-2026.

The roadmap aims to accelerate government performance through financial empowerment, sustainability, innovation, and future foresight, financial leadership and sustainable development, reported state news agency, WAM.

The four-year strategic plan aligns with the objectives of the UAE Centennial Plan 2071.

Sheikh Maktoum said: “We will develop and implement sustainable financial policies to promote economic growth, create a competitive business environment, strengthen international economic relations and build trust and transparency.

“The ministry will pursue excellence in federal government work. In a fast-changing world, we will ensure our economy is resilient and agile, ensuring long-term national goals are met. From human capital and legislative structures to the local business environment, financial policies, international relations and global partnerships, our plan sets out realistic medium-term goals. It will also empower government enablers to drive implementation of our strategic initiatives.

“We will prioritise attracting and empowering talent, providing efficient institutional services and AI-enabled digital infrastructure, applying best practices in human resources, leadership, quality standards, institutional excellence, and performance measurement. We will also encourage innovative practices based on flexibility, proactivity, and readiness to consolidate the best practices in institutional innovation and change management.”

Ministry’s strategic plan to look at resource allocation

Mohamed Hadi Al Hussaini, Minister of State for Financial Affairs, emphasised that the ministry will play an influential role in resource allocation to support policymaking and efficient planning, as part of the strategic plan.

The ministry’s strategic plan include six values – building team spirit, achieving leadership and excellence, ensuring integrity and transparency, enhancing agility in financial work management, and achieving high level of wellbeing, and equality in work environment.

There are also six other guidelines, including the internal and external factors impacting the ministry’s performance, the results of customer satisfaction surveys, the basic qualifications of the ministry, the available strategic resources and capabilities, internal strengths and weaknesses as well as opportunities and external risks, in addition to international best practices in financial resources management.

The Strategic Plan 2023-2026 includes three goals:

1. To enable financial performance excellence within the federal government through two initiatives – designing a public finance roadmap and strengthening analytical capabilities, and ensuring sound financial management.
2. To ensure fiscal sustainability for an inclusive future. This will be driven by two initiatives – managing public debt, and designing balanced tax policies that are aligned with local and international developments.
3. To strengthen national financial resilience. Two initiatives will enable this goal – designing a framework for emergency response and recovery in finance, and developing a programme for cooperation with international ministries of finance in the field of public finance.

The plan has four main goals with periodic tasks:

• First, developing a sustainable fiscal policy through three tasks – developing the federal government’s financial planning; strengthening sustainability of public finances and risk management; and preparing and reviewing financial laws and policies.
• Second, fostering strong economic growth and a competitive business environment by – managing and supervising the government’s financial committees and interests in companies, institutions, and organisations; enhancing the competitiveness of the business environment.
• Third, promoting international economic and financial corporation through three tasks – promoting international financial interests; utilising the opportunities and advantages of joint Gulf financial and economic integration; and developing and strengthening international tax relations.
• Lastly, enhancing trust and transparency through four tasks – improving and developing mechanisms for budget planning and implementation; managing and governing financial data; preparing and managing the federal government’s financial operations; and managing the government procurement platform.

Plan for government enablers

The strategic plan sets out a plan for government enablers. Under the goal to attract and enable talents and provide effective and efficient institutional services and digital structure, there are three strategic projects – financial leaders and future skills, designing a framework for attracting and retaining talents, and developing the ministry’s artificial intelligence framework.

To achieve the first government enabler, along with its strategic projects, 10 periodic tasks were identified.

These include managing financial resources and procurement efficiently in line with international best practices; applying best human resources practices and international best practices in leadership; setting quality standards and institutional excellence; ensuring internal and external communication; setting and developing the strategic plan; measuring performance; providing the best legal services ; providing the latest IT services; providing common services for all organisational units with high efficiency.

The second government enabler – promoting innovation practices based on agility, preemption, and readiness at the workplace – includes one strategic project – the consolidation of best practices in innovation and change management.

It also includes two periodic tasks – managing institutional innovation, and future foresight.