Mohammed bin Rashid chairs UAE Cabinet, approves UAE National Sports Strategy 2031

 His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, chaired the UAE Cabinet meeting at Qasr Al Watan, Abu Dhabi, in the presence of H.H. Sheikh Maktoum bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, First Deputy Ruler of Dubai, Deputy Prime Minister, and Minister of Finance; and H.H. Lt. General Sheikh Saif bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the Interior.

His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid said, “Today, I chaired the UAE Cabinet meeting in Abu Dhabi, at which we adopted the formation of the National Council Against Drugs chaired by Saif bin Zayed. The Council aims at combating drug trafficking, enhancing international cooperation in drug control, strengthening cooperation between ministries, local entities and security institutions, and providing early detection and psychological and medical support for addicts.”

His Highness added, “We also approved the UAE National Sports Strategy 2031, which aims to promote community wellbeing, through encouraging community members to exercise, increasing the percentage of people practicing different kinds of sports to 71 percent. The goal is to develop the skills of sports professionals, discover new talented athletes in schools through updating the sports education methodology and sports law.”

National Council Against Drugs
The UAE Cabinet adopted the formation of the National Council Against Drugs, chaired by H.H. Lt. General Sheikh Saif bin Zayed Al Nahyan. The council is responsible to develop a national drug control strategy, including prevention, awareness-raising, provision of medical and psychological treatment, and strengthening of community and functional integration mechanisms for recovered-addicts.

Additionally, the newly formed council aims to enhancing federal and local institutional integration to combat illicit drug trafficking, following-up on the implementation of plans and policies to combat the collection and smuggling of narcotic drugs through all UAE borders.

The National Council Against Drugs will work on promoting international cooperation and outreach to global drug portfolio stakeholders and institutions, and reviewing existing legislation and propose necessary amendments and submit them to the Council of Ministers.

UAE National Sports Strategy 2031
The Cabinet approved the UAE National Sports Strategy 2031, the first comprehensive national strategy that regulates the frameworks of improving the community wellbeing. The strategy will focus on encouraging community members to exercise, in order to increase the percentage of people practicing different kinds of sports.

The Strategy will implement 17 initiatives in the coming years, achieving a number of goals, including developing the skills of sports professionals, discovering new talented athletes in schools, updating the sports education methodology and sports law, and increase the percentage of people practicing different kinds of sports to 71 percent, qualifying more than 30 athletes for the Olympic Games, and the sports sector contribution of 0.5 percent of non-oil GDP.

Organising the market of energy services companies
The Cabinet adopted a policy organising the market of energy services companies in the country. The policy aims to consolidate the mechanisms of doing business, financing and partnerships with the private sector. The policy clarifies the contractual framework between all parties and the various contracting mechanisms.

In addition, the policy will encourage private sector companies to invest in government projects, with the aim of reducing energy and water consumption in government buildings, contributing to clean energy by 5 percent, promoting the sustainability of buildings by an approximate 5-10 percent, and decreasing the demand of energy in building sector to 51 percent by 2050.

The meeting adopted regulations about the non-automatic weighing instruments regulations, and the axle weights of vehicles in the country. The Cabinet adopted a resolution approving the term "UAE Customs/United Arab Emirates Customs", in international engagements at the Gulf, regional and global levels.

The Cabinet followed-up on the latest developments in preparation for hosting the World Radiocommunication Conference (WRC-23) in the UAE, between 20 November and 15 December 2023. The conference is organised under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, and is expected to witness more than 4000 participants from more than 193 countries.

The UAE ranked first in mobile median download speed index in 2022, the index of web and mobile competitiveness, phones subscriptions per 100 people, internet usage, and the first globally in wireless broadband index. The country advanced to 13th place globally and first in the Arabic world in the e-government development index.

The Cabinet approved the agreement between the UAE Government and the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), regarding the establishment of an office for the Bank in the country.

During the meeting, the UAE Cabinet reviewed a number of reports and achievements for the year 2022, and approved an agreement between the UAE Government and the Solomon Islands Government.

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