UAE restructures government, seeking more agility as it deals with coronavirus impact

UAE Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed, also the ruler of Dubai and UAE vice president, said the changes would speed up decision making and make the government more responsive to change. (WAM)

• The energy and infrastructure ministries were merged under a single portfolio to be headed by the current energy minister, Suhail Al Mazrouei
• Changes include abolishing half of government service centers and converting them to digital platforms within two years

DUBAI: The United Arab Emirates announced a broad government restructuring on Sunday, merging government entities and appointing new economy and industry ministers, and giving it a year to achieve new targets.
The head of Abu Dhabi's national oil company ADNOC, Sultan al-Jaber, was named as industry and advanced technology minister and Abdullah al-Marri was appointed economy minister, as part of the restructuring announced by UAE Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum on his official Twitter account.
The energy and infrastructure ministries were merged under a single portfolio to be headed by the current energy minister, Suhail Al Mazrouei.

دمج وزارة الطاقة مع وزارة البنية التحتية.. لتصبح وزارة الطاقة والبنية التحتية .. وإلحاق برنامج زايد للإسكان و الهيئة الاتحادية للمواصلات البرية والبحرية بالوزارة الجديدة .. وتعيين الأخ سهيل المزروعي وزيراً لها.. pic.twitter.com/LP516mc3Lz

— HH Sheikh Mohammed (@HHShkMohd) July 5, 2020

The changes are being made to help the country deal with the impact of the coronavirus pandemic, Sheikh Mohammed said last month when plans to restructure were first announced.
Changes include abolishing half of government service centers and converting them to digital platforms within two years and merging around half of federal agencies with each other or within ministries.

إلغاء 50% من مراكز الخدمة الحكومية وتحويلها لمنصات رقمية خلال عامين .. ودمج حوالي 50% من الهيئات الاتحادية مع بعضها أو ضمن وزارات .. واستحداث مناصب وزراء دولة جدد .. وخلق مناصب رؤساء تنفيذيين في قطاعات تخصصية نحتاجها للعبور بقوة للمستقبل ..

— HH Sheikh Mohammed (@HHShkMohd) July 5, 2020

Sheikh Mohammed, also the ruler of Dubai and vice president of the UAE, said the changes would speed up decision making and make the government more responsive to change.

 

هدفنا من التغييرات الهيكلية اليوم هو حكومة أسرع في اتخاذ القرار .. وأكثر مواكبة للمتغيرات .. وأفضل في اقتناص الفرص وفي التعامل مع المرحلة الجديدة في تاريخنا .. حكومة مرنة وسريعة هدفها تعزيز منجزات ومكتسبات الوطن..

— HH Sheikh Mohammed (@HHShkMohd) July 5, 2020