The Cabinet has endorsed the federal electronic government plan till 2014 to upgrade the transition efforts to the electronic services, set up an advanced electronic infrastructure and provide appropriate legal basis for provision of advanced electronic services.
Chairing the Council of Ministers session here today at the Presidential Palace, Vice President and Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum said that all the ministries and federal institutions are required within two years from now to provide comprehensive electronic services to public.
He underlined that the shift to electronic services would further boost the UAE’s competitiveness in all the economic, social, educational and health sectors, adding that it would also save effort and time.
Sheikh Mohammed noted that during the next period the Cabinet would focus on completion of transition to the e-government through diversification of government services such as the Internet, fixed phones, cell phones , electronic cafes, besides the traditional service centres, which provide integrated and comprehensive services.
The Vice President urged all the federal institutions to cooperate and coordinate to achieve the shift process to the federal electronic government, being a national mission that must be achieved by all, stressing the need for adherence to the schedules to achieve the shift process to electronic services.
Present were H. H. Lt. General Sheikh Saif bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior and H. H. Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Presidential Affairs.
Meanwhile, the Cabinet endorsed the appointment of H. H. Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Foreign Minister as a Chairman of National Media Council (NMC), replacing Sheikh Hamdan bin Mubarak Al Nahyan, Minister of Public Works.
Sheikh Mohammed commended the performance of Sheikh Hamdan bin Mubarak when he was heading the NMC. He wished success to Sheikh Abdullah in his new post.
The Council of Ministers also endorsed setting up of the Federal Court of First Instance in Dibba Fujairah City to look into civil, commercial, labour, administrative and personal status disputes within its jurisdiction.
It approved the UAE’s contribution to the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) from 2013- 2015. IFAD is one of the specialised United Nations agencies that supports and enhances the food production for the needy categories in the developing countries. 162 countries worldwide contribute to IFAD. The UAE has so far contributes $53 million to the IFAD since its inception, making it one of the main contributors.
The Cabinet also approved the agreements, among others, the agreement between the UAE and Portugal on the encouragement and protection of mutual investment. It also endorsed the agreements between the UAE and both Kenya and Guinea on avoiding double taxation on income. The Cabinet approved the agreement between the UAE government and Albanian government on the economic cooperation and air services.
The Council of Ministers endorsed the agreement between the UAE and Turkey on reciprocity principle regarding the possession of immovable property. It approved the establishment of a new embassy of the Republic of Colombia.
