World Bank Selects UAE to Host Technical Working Group Meeting of Regional Partners in the Middle East

The Ministry of Finance (MoF) announced today that the UAE will host the World Bank's regional meeting of the Working Group of Ease of Doing Business Index in Dubai in December this year. The meeting will be held under the patronage of H.H. Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Minister of Finance, and will be organised by the Executive Team of Ease of Doing Business Index in the UAE, in coordination with the Ministry of Finance.

His Excellency Obaid bin Humaid Al Tayer, Minister of State for Financial Affairs, said that the fact the UAE has been chosen to host the World Bank meeting is testament to the country's global and regional goals to build competencies and share expertise to further develop business practices. H.E. continued: the consistent improvements made by UAE government institutions have reflected on the country's leading position in global rankings for several years. H.E. added: “The World Bank's decision to select the UAE as host for this important event underscores the strategic relationship that the nation enjoys with the World Bank teams. It also highlights the UAE's efforts to create an attractive business environment for local, regional and international investors.”

The regional meeting of Ease of Doing Business Index is a high-level gathering of experts convened by the Doing Business report team at the World Bank in Washington. The aim is to bring all stakeholders in the region under one roof, to discuss and assess the results of this year's Ease of Doing Business report, and deliberate ways to improve the report methodology. The meeting also provides a platform that enables attendees to share success stories, experiences, ideas and best practices to enhance the business environment.

Abdulla Lootah, Director General of Federal Competitiveness and Statistics Authority (FCSA) said: “Choosing the UAE to host the event demonstrates the confidence World Bank places on its partnership with our nation, as well as its trust in the nation to build a robust investment system. This move is testament to the knowledge built by our government institutions over the years and reiterates the nation’s achievements in important reports and indicators of global competitiveness. Unsurprisingly, the UAE recently achieved the first place in the Arab World in the Ease of Doing Business report for the seventh year in a row.”

With more than 250 global experts from the World Bank and major specialised economic institutions in attendance, the meeting will facilitate discussions around the opportunities and challenges facing the process of building and improving laws, legislation and procedures related to doing business, as well as the basic phases of economic establishments. Including, starting a business, issuing building permits, delivering electricity, registering property, obtaining credit, protecting minority investors, paying taxes, trading across borders, enforcing contracts and resolving insolvency cases. The forum will additionally review ways to overcome challenges collectively, through case studies and expertise sharing. The meeting is also an opportunity for participating delegations to learn about the UAE's performance in the Ease of Doing Business report and best practices for improving performance in relevant areas.

Participation of government entities in the country

The Executive Team of Ease of Doing Business, in coordination with the World Bank team and the Ministry of Finance, will prepare a comprehensive knowledge and work programme that includes the experiences and achievements of the team members. This will include 18 federal and local bodies chaired by the Federal Competitiveness and Statistics Authority. They are as follow: The Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Economy, the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation, the Ministry of Infrastructure Development, the Emirates Development Bank, the Federal Customs Authority, the Federal Tax Authority, the Emirates Authority for Standardization and Metrology, the Securities and Commodities Authority, Dubai Courts, the Land Department - Dubai , Dubai Electricity and Water Department, Etihad Credit Bureau, Dubai Economy, Dubai Trade and Dubai Municipality.

In October 2016, H.H. Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, directed the formation of “Executive Teams for the National Agenda” comprised of 500 officials representing different entities, sectors and levels, in order to achieve 52 national indicators to measure the nation’s achievements in leadership, happiness and welfare of the community within six national priority areas: health, education, economy, environment and infrastructure, society, safety and judiciary.

The Executive Teams are tasked with devising integrated action plans that include quick-, medium- and long-term initiatives, as well as to propose joint sub-task force as necessary to implement these initiatives, supervise the execution of the plans, coordinate with various governmental and international stakeholders, follow up implementation, assess performance results and submit periodic reports.