UAE okays AED201.1bn fed budget until 2021

DUBAI / WAM

The UAE Cabinet, presided over by HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of UAE and Ruler of Dubai, approved the federal budget for 2018-2021 with a total of AED 201.1 billion, of which AED51.4 billion is for 2018, with a zero deficit. This came during the extraordinary session held at the Sharjah International Book Fair on Tuesday.
The Ministry of Finance (MoF), submitted a draft general federal budget for the fiscal year 2018 as part of a strategic five-year plan, spanning 2017-2021, to the UAE Cabinet at a total of AED51.4 billion and an increase of 5.6 percent from total budget allocations for the
previous fiscal year 2017.
The budget is the largest one
ever to be allocated to the Federal Government.
The increases in financial allocations for 2018 compared to financial allocations for previous budget period (2014-2016) were approximately 12%/5%/6% respectively, which indicate the strength of national economy and sustainable financial resources in addition to providing liquidity to finance all economic and social development initiatives in the country.
HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum asserted that the Federal Government, led by the President His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan,
continues to achieve the happiness of its people and to ensure a secure and a decent life for them.
His Highness said, “All strategies and budget plans are invested in the service of the UAE society in the first place, and we will spare no efforts in providing all the requirements for our people’s happiness and well-being. The UAE people are our most valuable asset.”
The Cabinet adopted during its session the general federal budget for fiscal year 2018 with estimated revenues of AED51,388,000,000 and an estimated expenditure of AED 51,388,000,000 with zero deficit, in line with Government’s objective to improve the efficiency of financial planning and its implementation to achieve the UAE
Vision 2021.
The budget focussed primarily on utilising resources to achieve the highest degree of prosperity and well-being of the citizens and residents as a priority, underlining education, healthcare and community wellbeing as key pillars for the development of the society.
The federal budget for 2018 was distributed across various sectors. The social development and social benefits sector saw AED26.3 billion earmarked for social development programmes, that is 43.5% of total budget, of which AED10.4 billion were allocated for general education and higher education total-
ling 17.1% of overall budget, and AED4.5 billion allocated to health sector, 7.4% of the total budget.
The government affairs sector was allocated AED22.1 billion, 36.5 percent of the total budget. A total of AED3.5 billion was assigned to federal projects implemented by federal agencies.