UAE government unveils ‘strategic transformational’ projects

Five major projects have been announced by the UAE’s Ministry of Finance as it seeks to develop the national economy.

The projects include corporate tax, supply chain strategies, climate data transparency and partnerships between the public and private sector.

The finance ministry’s initiative are an attempt to manage UAE government resources and help contribute to the future needs of the country, the department said.

It added that the new projects will support the ministry’s “ongoing endeavours to implement national priorities and improve government financial work with the aim of further enhancing future readiness”.

It added that they align with the ‘We the UAE 2031’ vision, which represents a national plan through which the UAE will continue its development path for the next decade and toward the next 50 years, particularly in the field of digital government.

Mohamed Bin Hadi Al Hussaini, Minister of State for Financial Affairs, said: “In an ever-changing world, we must harness more flexible and efficient work tools and methods to keep up with developments in various vital sectors.

“Through announcing these transformational projects, The Ministry of Finance aims to achieve comprehensive strategic goals and promote its leading role within various vital sectors such as procurement and supply.

“The ministry also aims to establish effective partnerships with the private sector to improve government services and finance projects and implement them in an optimal way.

“This is in addition to stimulating expenditure on climate and environment to ensure a sustainable future for tomorrow’s generations.

“Additionally, the ministry is working on projects related to drawing tax policies and facilitating tax returns to ensure tax compliance and strengthen the tax legislative structure in the country while preserving the competitiveness of the economic environment and its ability to attract foreign investment.”

 

The projects

‘Promising Future in the Supply Strategy of the Federal Government’ aims to incorporate new categories of suppliers for the federal government to support national economic growth and enhance government efforts aimed at expanding and diversifying the supplier base in the federal government.

This, in turn, contributes to improving the quality of services and products for federal procurement at competitive prices and achieves returns on the local economy through the application of the National In-Country Value Program’s (ICV) standards.

The second project, ‘Enhancing Competitiveness and Transparency in Data Related to Climate and Environment Spending Data’, is based on providing data related to state-level government expenditure on the climate and environment. Ove collated, the data will be submitted to the International Monetary Fund and published on the Climate Change Indicators Dashboard.

This calculates the indicators of countries’ policies related to spending on climate and the environment to measure their impact on macroeconomic sustainability and transparency.

Users of the dashboard will be able to assess how economic and financial activities and government policies are linked to climate change and, on a wider scale, the environment.

The third transformational project, ‘The Future Phase of Regulating Public-Private Partnerships’, will establish a mechanism for organising partnership projects between public and private sectors, with the aim of supporting sustainable economic development.

The ministry began implementing this project by talking to parties from the government and the private sector, and launching various consulting practices to ensure that the projects are in line with the two sectors’ visions and the country’s aspirations in this field.

The project is scheduled to be completed in December 2025.

The ‘Imposing a Federal Tax on Corporations and Businesses’ project, which is being implemented by the Ministry of Finance through the preparation and establishment of the corporate tax policy, includes the legislative system for the policy, the issuance of the law, as well as executive regulations and related ministerial resolutions.

The ministry is also developing an ‘E-Billing System” project, with the aim of developing and rolling out a national advanced electronic billing system.

This will automate the procedures for filing tax returns with the tax system to facilitate filing tax returns, improve tax compliance and reduce cases of tax evasion.

The project includes different phases and targets that are set to be completed by July 2025.