Today, the Economic Integration Committee held its fourth meeting for the year 2024, chaired by His Excellency Abdullah bin Touq Al Marri, Minister of Economy, in the presence of Her Excellency Alia Abdullah Al Mazrouei, Minister of State for Entrepreneurship, and representatives of local economic development departments in all emirates of the country.
At the beginning of the meeting, which was held via videoconferencing, His Excellency Bin Touq and the committee members welcomed the presence of Her Excellency Alia Al Mazrouei and her joining the committee. Her Excellency will represent a new and strong addition to the committee’s efforts to develop the business environment in the country and create diverse economic opportunities and capabilities for Emirati entrepreneurs.
The committee discussed the agenda, which included a presentation of the progress made in its third meeting held last June, and reviewed a group of vital economic files, most notably the role of national efforts in enhancing the competitiveness of the legislative environment for family businesses and cooperative societies in the country.
His Excellency Abdullah bin Touq Al Marri stressed the UAE’s keenness, in light of the directives of its wise leadership, to develop an integrated economic legislative system based on the best international practices, and to provide the enabling factors that support the growth and prosperity of businesses of all sizes, as well as family businesses, cooperative societies and brands in the country, and to encourage them to expand into new economic sectors, which has contributed to consolidating the UAE’s position as a global destination for business and investment.
His Excellency said: The Economic Integration Committee and the local economic development departments play a vital and important role in enhancing the competitiveness of the UAE business environment at the regional and international levels, increasing economic activities in the country, and supporting its attractiveness to local and foreign investments.
His Excellency added that the committee today discussed mechanisms for cooperation between the relevant government agencies to continue the process of legislative development of economic laws and policies in the country, in a way that enhances the UAE’s attainment of first place globally in developing proactive legislation for new economic sectors by the next decade, in light of the “We the Emirates 2031” vision.
Her Excellency Alia bint Abdullah Al Mazrouei, Minister of State for Entrepreneurship, expressed her happiness at joining the Economic Integration Committee, which includes a national team with strong expertise and distinguished competencies. Her Excellency pointed out that the committee constitutes an important station for discussion and debate on legislation and policies related to entrepreneurship and emerging projects, which will support national efforts in providing a stimulating environment for the growth of the businesses of owners of Emirati small and medium enterprises.
The committee discussed a set of mechanisms to enhance the work system of family businesses in the country, enhance their ability to continue, and encourage them to join the “Unified Registry of Family Businesses” at the Ministry of Economy, by submitting applications to local registration authorities, in light of Federal Decree-Law No. (37) of 2022 regarding family businesses.
The committee also discussed the importance of enhancing cooperation between the ministry and the competent authorities in the country, to support the prosperity of the cooperative sector and encourage cooperative societies to expand into new economic sectors and activities such as education, health, housing, technology and other economic activities, in a way that supports the achievement of the national targets for this vital sector, which are to raise its contribution to the gross domestic product to 5%, and increase the number of shareholders to 500,000 by 2031.
During its meeting, the committee reviewed the project to “Develop a Database and Statistics for the Services Sector in the State,” which is based on the best international practices followed in this regard. This project contributes to enhancing the role of the balance of payments in the state to record and track all financial payments in all sectors.
The Committee also highlighted the national efforts to form the Supreme Committee for Trade in Services, chaired by His Excellency Dr. Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi, Minister of State for Foreign Trade, and with the membership of about 15 national entities related to trade in services in the country.
The Committee reviewed the results achieved from implementing the decisions of the Ministerial Council for Development, related to applying tax compliance to individuals engaged in e-commerce sector activities, as well as individuals who influence social media sites.
The Committee stressed the current legislation that stipulates that it is not permissible to practice any commercial activity without a commercial license, regardless of the commercial activity, whether it is through a real or virtual store or through any technical means.
She also praised the efforts of the national team that is following up on the implementation of these decisions.
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