With Sights Set to Take Effective Steps in Support of SDGs

With the participation of the National Committee on the Sustainable Development Goals, the Higher Committee for Coordinating Statistical Work held its first meeting in 2020.

Her Excellency Reem Bint Ibrahim Al Hashemi, Minister of State for International Cooperation Affairs and Chairperson of the National Committee on the Sustainable Development Goals expressed her pleasure to meet the members of the Higher Committee for Coordinating Statistical Work.

H.E. Al Hashemi emphasized the necessity of concerted efforts to provide accurate and up-to-date data, which contributes to advancing the UAE’s competitiveness in sustainable development dossiers.

“The statistical work system requires integration in all aspects of the statistical work and data collection. We should have a mutual understanding of the working mechanism in the next stage with sights highly set to achieve the vision of the UAE wise leadership in areas of sustainable development, and to move steadily forward to realizing goals of the UAE Centennial 2071,” she stated.

H.E. Al Hashemi underlined that more efforts must be exerted to make data accessible to all, and strive hard to promote and further boost up partnerships between government and local entities along with the private sector. She also touched upon areas of improvement in the statistical work by saying: “We have to invest in the mutual advantages generated by the enormous volumes of data, knowledge, and experiences to serve best the important initiatives and projects dedicated to supporting the statistical work, and enhance the achievement of the SDGs in UAE.”

H.E. Reem Bint Ibrahim Al Hashemi availed the opportunity to extend her sincerest appreciation to all the national statistics centers for their dedicated efforts to provide data and further enhance the UAE’s competitiveness in various global competitiveness reports. She stressed: “The UAE today is a role model in areas of developing strategies for achieving the SDGs. We look forward, through our meeting, to unifying the efforts of statistics centers to identify solutions to challenges and turn them into genuine opportunities.”

H.E., the State Minister, concluded her statement by giving weight to the fact that UAE deserves that everyone pushes himself to the limit to bring our homeland to the level of developed country worldwide, and create a better future for present and future generations.

H.E. Abdullah Nasser Lootah, Director-General of the Federal Competitiveness and Statistics Authority (FCSA) and Deputy Chairperson of the National Commission on SDGs, thanked H.E. Reem Bint Ibrahim Al Hashemi for attending the meeting and the directives and remarks she presented.

H.E. Lootah added: “Our work in the Higher Committee for Coordinating Statistical Work and the National Committee on SDGs focuses on the significance of data and statistics in achieving the indicators of the UAE National Agenda 2030, constant quest to further boost up the achievements, and adopting innovation as a systematic work approach to achieve the goals of the UAE Centennial 2071.”

While highlighting the significance of this meeting, H.E. Lootah pointed out that joint meetings constitute a real opportunity to discuss visions and ideas that would add value to the dialogue on supporting partnerships between statistics entities to move forward of achieving the SDGs.

He also stated: “This would enhance our work in parallel with global efforts exerted to achieve sustainability. It would also help identify priorities, discuss challenges, and review a range of innovative and effective solutions that contribute to accelerating the pace of achieving the SDGs in the UAE.”

Commenting on the significance of the meeting, Abdullah Ahmed Al Suwaidi, Acting Director-General of the Statistics Center- Abu Dhabi (SCAD), assured SCAD’s commitment to achieving the SDGs. He said: “This meeting was of outstanding importance and meant to exchange experiences, reviewing the best practices in the field of sustainability, and highlighting the vital role of statistical data in supporting the sustainability process. It also dedicated to identify the best methods to take advantage of the statistical data, improve its quality and make them accessible to the public, and channel them in the manner that contributes to the UAE’s progress and prosperity and the world at large.”

Al Suwaidi added: “The United Nations and the member states that endorsed the Global Sustainability Agenda 2030 acknowledged the importance of providing data and statistics of development indicators as unified criteria for identifying efforts to achieve the SDGs. in view of that, all countries committed to achieving their SDGs strive hard to provide the latest figures and data on sustainability and make them accessible.”

Promoting Initiatives

Arif Al Muhairi, the Executive Director of the Dubai Statistics Center (DSC), highlighted the significance of this meeting by saying: “The statistical work system requires integrating all relevant aspects of the statistical work, data flow and developing a mutual understanding of the working mechanism through cooperation between statistics entities in the UAE.

Hailing efforts to hold this meeting, he commented: “This meeting was held with the participation of the members of the National Committee on SDGs as a genuine realization of the interest that the UAE’s wise leadership attaches to promoting initiatives and partnerships that best serve to achieve the SDGs. It is held to emphasize the importance of joint work, harnessing innovative solutions, and benefiting from the data revolution to achieve the Sustainable Development Agenda 2030.”

For her part, Dr. Hajar Al Hubaishi, Executive Director of the Ajman Statistics and Competitiveness Center, emphasized: “The meetings of the Higher Committee for Coordinating Statistical Work are held according to a general framework dedicated for the process of developing and implementing statistical work in the UAE. This could be realized by achieving coordination and integration among official statistical entities, government authorities, and the private sector institutions to ensure that the flawless flow of data effectively and systematically.”

Dr. Hajar went on to say: “The joint meeting earned special importance as it is held with the participation of the members of the National Committee on SDGs. This definitely, contributes to developing a data environment that supports the efforts exerted to achieve the SDGs in the UAE through devising tools and means to ensure the provision of accurate and up-to-date data. They all are meant to contribute to the efforts exerted to achieving sustainability in the UAE by implementing various strategic initiatives and projects.”

On his turn, H.E. Humaid Rashid Humaid Al Shamsi, Secretary-General of the Executive Council of Umm Al Quwain, shed light on the commitment of Umm Al Quwain Emirate to coordinate and combine efforts of the national statistics entities and provide support to them to make optimal use of data and the best methods of collecting and analyzing them.

He pointed out: “This is done to support the national statistical work systems, to implement the best practices in this vital sector and to take advantage of the methodologies designed to support sustainable development dedicated to realizing the directions of the UAE Government and its federal and local authorities to achieve the SDGs. Such efforts will finally lead to promote methods to achieve our national agenda and the UAE Centennial 2071.”

On the other hand, H.E. Najwa Yaacoub, Executive Director of RAK Center for Statistics & Studies, singled out the need to conclude partnerships in the field of statistical work to support the SDGs.

She stated: “This meeting is one of the active channels of communication with the strategic partners to contribute to pursuing the achievement of the SDGs. Moreover, it is an opportunity to develop the appropriate statistical work mechanisms to harness innovation to achieve sustainable development, one of the catalysts for realizing growth in many other vital sectors.

H.E. Najwa Yaacoub mentioned that the meeting agenda focused on expanding the methods to support and measure the UAE National Agenda designed to contribute to achieving the SDGs 2030. Also, the agenda focused on the importance of data and statistics to support decision-making processes and achieving the anticipated achievements at the level of the UAE and the world at large.”

Dr. Ibrahim Saad, Director of the Fujairah Statistics Center, underlined that the meeting received additional importance as it is being held to enhance the position of statistics in sustainable development.

He pointed out: “The statistics sector receives immense care and attention of the UAE’s wise leadership based on the importance of its active role in policy and decision-making, as well as contributing to establishing development projects.”

Dr. Ibrahim indicated that providing accurate statistical information contributes to drawing strategic plans for sustainable development in the UAE, and enhances the flow of data and indicators between the government departments and private sector institutions.

Dr. Ibrahim concluded by stating that “This would have positive implications in realizing developments in economic and social growth. It would absolutely enhance methods adopted to achieve the SDGs 2030 and boosts the UAE’s competitiveness in global reports and indicators.”

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High-Level Meetings Brought Together Ministers and FCSA-UN Strategic Partners

Dubai, UAE- 19th February 2020

On the sidelines of the FCSA’s participation in the activities of the Global Women’s Forum Dubai (GWFD) 2020, a meeting attended by H.E. Jamila Bint Salem Al Muhairi, Minister of State for General Education, H.E. Sarah Bint Yousif Al Amiri, Minister of State for Advanced Sciences, and H.E. Abdullah Nasser Lootah, Director-General of the Federal Competitiveness and Statistics Authority (FCSA), was held with Mr. Pedro Conceição, Director of Strategic Policy at UNDP’s Bureau for Policy and Programme Support.

The attendees of the meeting tackled the up-to-the-minute advances in the process of improvements and developments in place in the UAE adopted to empower the Emirati women and activate their role in the field of social and economic growth in the UAE.

FCSA, in cooperation with its strategic partners, participated in several plenary sessions of the GWFD 2020 agenda, in addition to holding high-level bilateral meetings with senior officials and experts from all over the world. FCSA highlighted the central role played by the UAE in empowering women while emphasizing its role in the development processes and striving hard to achieve gender balance.

H.E. Jamila Bint Salem Al Muhairi, Minister of State for General Education Affairs, touched upon the active role played by the Emirati women in the education sector.

H.E. Al Muhairi stated: “The Emirati women have turned their future aspirations into brilliant and ground-breaking success in education and educational activities. They were able to achieve such successes due to their perseverance and sound preparations to lay a necessary foundation in the growth, development, and prosperity of the UAE. The Emirati women demonstrate in every single day tremendous capacities to assume critical tasks and positions.

While shedding light on UAE achievements in women empowerment, H.E. Al Muhairi stated: “The UAE tops all Arab countries in the UN reports on gender balance and ranks high on the global level in gender equality, particularly in terms of low illiteracy rates and their participation in the secondary and higher education. Indeed, Emirati women represent 55% of the bachelor’s degree graduates, 41% of the master’s degree graduates, and 48% of Ph.D. degree graduates.”

On the other hand, H.E. Sarah Bint Youssef Al Amiri, Minister of State for Advanced Sciences, noted that “Young Emirati women’s competencies and energies participate intensely and sensibly in the UAE space program. This is consistent with the UAE’s directions to empower the Emirati women in all sectors, particularly the UAE project to explore Mars and space sciences, gender balance approach, and activating the role of the Emirati women as a partner in the development, progress, and prosperity currently unfolding in the UAE.”

H.E. Al Amiri underlined the importance of women working in space and advanced sciences and their role in leading their projects. She stated: “34% Emirati women participate in such projects, and by this they achieve the highest percentage of women participating in tasks and projects of advanced sciences and the space sector.”

Regarding the achievements of Emirati women regarding their remarkable progress in global competitiveness reports, H.E. Abdullah Nasser Lootah, FCSA Director-General, emphasized the fact that the UAE has made significant strides in indicators related to women in global competitiveness reports. “They have achieved top spots globally in many indicators. Emirati women topped several indicators on women empowerment at the level of Arab countries.”

H.E. Lootah underscored the significance of the GWFD 2020 as a global dialogue platform dedicated to exchanging global experiences, and showcase the UAE’s successes in the area of women’s empowerment and gender balance.

On his part, Mr. Pedro Conceição, Director of Strategic Policy at UNDP’s Bureau for Policy and Programme Support, hailed the UAE’s dedicated efforts in the field of women’s empowerment.

He stated: “I have noted the UAE government’s commitment to empowering women and its constant endeavor to develop women’s participation further and give them more opportunities, considering that they are an important element in social and economic development.”

He concluded by underscoring that the UAE has already achieved myriad progress as a result of the undergoing improvements realized at various levels.

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The United Arab Emirates has achieved a significant global accomplishment by entering the top 10, securing the 10th position globally in the overall ranking as one of the best countries in the world in the "World Digital Competitiveness Ranking 2021," published by the world Competitiveness Center (WCC) affiliated with the International Institute for Management Development (IMD).

In doing so, the UAE topped the MENA Region, not only ranking first regionally the UAE surpassed leading countries globally such as Finland, Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, China, Germany, France, Japan, and Belgium. This achievement is notable during a period marked by major global challenges that significantly impacted economies worldwide. The UAE managed to make significant strides in various indicators in the report.

New achievement

Minister of Cabinet Affairs and Chairman of the UAE’s Competitiveness Council, Mohammed Abdullah Al Garqawi, said that the UAE’s entry into the Top 10 globally in the World Digital Competitiveness Report 2021, is one of the most important global competitiveness reports, and represents a new achievement in its journey towards establishing the UAE’s position as one of the best countries World.

He added, "The country has demonstrated its exceptional ability to overcome challenges and turn them into inspiring opportunities, thanks to the vision of His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the President of the State, and the directives of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the Vice President and Prime Minister of the State, and His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, which enhances the country’s ability to achieve positive results in various competitiveness reports and indicators, making it one of the most competitive countries in the world."

His Excellency continued, "This achievement adds to the UAE’s track record in the global competitiveness journey, keeping pace with the significant developments and the new methodology of government work witnessed by the country. It reflects the government’s aspirations for the future, embodying its strategic goals aimed at achieving further progress and prosperity on all fronts. It also reinforces the UAE’s leadership in global competitiveness indicators."

Digital Transformation

H.E. Omar Sultan AlOlama, the Minister of State for Artificial Intelligence, Digital Economy, and Remote Work Applications, stated that the government of the UAE supports innovative projects that enhance the concept of innovation and reinforces strategic partnerships and digital initiatives in both the public and private sectors.

He affirmed that the new achievement of the UAE reaching the 10th position globally in the report among the best countries in this field is a result of the leadership’s vision that prioritizes a knowledge-based economy and embraces smart solutions and innovative digital initiatives among its current priorities and future plans.

He added that the UAE government adopts a policy of digital transformation that enhances the efficiency of smart platforms and contributes to the successful implementation of projects in the fields of digital economy and artificial intelligence, which positively impacts both the government and society.

Ready For The Future

In the same vein, Minister of State for Advanced Sciences, Sarah AlAmiri affirmed that the government of the UAE embraces advanced technology and Fourth Industrial Revolution technologies as a fundamental axis in its future-oriented directions. This reflects the directives of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE, Ruler of Dubai, to develop an integrated technological infrastructure based on innovation and digitization, supporting the state’s efforts in preparing for the next fifty years.

Her Excellency praised the progress achieved by the UAE in the "Global Digital Competitiveness Report," securing the fifth position globally in the Technology Framework Index. She highlighted the qualitative leap in the Digital and Technological Skills Index, with the country advancing seven positions to rank 10th globally.

Vision 2021

H.E. Eng. Majed Sultan Al Mesmar The Director General of the Telecommunications and Digital Government Regulatory Authority, stated that the significance of the results achieved by the UAE in the "World Digital Competitiveness Report 2021" lies in the timing, aligning with the accomplishment of the ‘UAE Vision 2021’ to be among the best countries globally.

He added, ‘This result comes to confirm that, with the guidance of our leadership, we have achieved digital transformation goals in successive stages until now. This encourages us and strengthens our determination to move towards new heights and achievements in the next fifty years, God willing.

Work Style

H.E. Dr. Mohamed Hamad Al Kuwaiti, Head of Cybersecurity of the UAE Government, that the digital transformation witnessed by the country touches all aspects of life in the state’s society. It has become a culture and a working style in the UAE government. With the technological progress in our world today, digital security has become an integral part of the national security of advanced countries. Innovation, adaptability, and the ability to renew play a crucial role in protecting digital societies and proactively addressing any cyber threats.

Al Kuwaiti affirmed that the UAE is moving steadily according to the ‘Plan 50,’ aiming to be among the best countries in the world in various sectors through insightful vision, an effective government, and the capability to flexibly and efficiently deal with future changes. This enhances its position regionally and internationally within the most competitive knowledge-based economies globally.

H.E. Hanan Ahli, acting director of the Federal Competitiveness and Statistics Centre, expressed her sincere thanks to the strategic partners in the federal and local government entities, national statistical centers, and private sector partners.

She emphasized that the UAE government attaches great importance to the role of effective partnerships between federal and local government entities and the private sector to support the competitiveness file.

Global Leadership In 4 Indicators

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has secured the top spot globally in four indicators in the report: "Cybersecurity," "Net Inflow of International Students," "Resilience of Residence Laws," and "Wireless Broadband Subscriptions."

Additionally, the country has claimed the second position worldwide in indicators such as "Availability of Global Expertise," "Presence of International Experts," and "Globalization Trends."

Furthermore, it has achieved the third position globally in indicators such as "City Management," "Companies’ Use of Big Data and Analytical Tools," and "Availability of Opportunities and Absence of Threats."

Significant Leaps by the UAE

The United Arab Emirates has made significant advancements in various indicators, making a leap of 31 positions in one go in the "Internet Users" index, securing the fourth position globally. Furthermore, it achieved a remarkable advancement of 31 positions in the "Percentage of Population with Higher Education" index, attaining the 16th position worldwide.

In addition, the country experienced a leap of 22 positions in the "Subscribers to Mobile Broadband Service" index, ranking 12th globally. It also made a notable jump of nine positions in the "Percentage of Women University Graduates with Bachelor’s and Master’s Degrees," securing the 10th position globally. These achievements are complemented by numerous other indicators in which the UAE has demonstrated substantial progress.

The country has consistently ranked within the top 10 globally in 25 out of the 52 indicators covered in the report.

The ‘Global Digital Competitiveness Report’ assesses the performance of 64 countries worldwide across three main pillars: Knowledge, Technology, and Future Readiness. The three main pillars are further divided into nine sub-pillars, encompassing a total of 52 indicators. The report methodology relies on 20 opinion survey indicators and 32 statistical data indicators.

UAE Leads in the Arab Region

In this year’s report, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) emerged as the top-ranking Arab country, securing the first position in all main pillars. It achieved the 5th position globally in the ‘Technology’ pillar, the 12th position globally in the ‘Future Readiness’ pillar, and experienced a significant leap of 13 positions in the ‘Knowledge’ pillar, landing at the 18th position globally.

In the nine sub-pillars of the report, the UAE claimed the top spot globally in the ‘Talent’ pillar, advancing four positions from the previous year. It secured the 2nd position globally in the ‘Regulatory Framework’ pillar and the 5th position globally in the ‘Technological Framework’ pillar.

Furthermore, the UAE made a substantial leap of 19 positions in the ‘Education and Training’ pillar, achieving the 25th position globally. It also secured the 10th position globally in two sub-pillars: ‘Workforce Flexibility’ and ‘Information Technology Integration.’

​The UAE surpassed countries such as Finland, Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, China, Germany, France in the overall rankings.

Chairing the First Meeting of the FCSA Board of Directors in 2019

Dubai, 9 April 2019

Chairing the first meeting of the Board of Directors of the Federal Competitiveness and Statistics Authority (FCSA) in 2019, H.E. Mohammad Abdullah Al Gergawi, Minister of Cabinet Affairs and the Future and Chairman of the FCSA Board of Directors, acknowledged the support provided by all members of the FCSA Board of Directors to boost efforts exerted by the FCSA to further improve the UAE’s ranking in global indices and to achieve the goals of the National Agenda 2021.

He pointed out that FCSA has become a regional and global knowledge hub. “FCSA showcases the UAE model in competitive strategies, and how data, initiatives, and innovative methods in providing and disseminating data can support the design and shaping the future.”

“FCSA has become a key resource for decision-makers, officials, and experts from the UAE and abroad who desire to use statistics tools to shape the future with sights set to serve their countries and people. Data is national wealth, so we have to work hard to make use of them to build the future of our coming generations, to realize the vision and guidance of our wise leadership and rise to be among the best countries in the world.”

The FCSA team presented their proposed work plan for the current year, which includes setting up a series of specialized files focusing on a number of areas such as the impact of data on the national agenda indicators and global competitiveness reports, legislation and its role in promoting the UAE’s global competitiveness, SDGs and their relationship with the UAE Vision 2021 and the initiatives includinge race to thefuture and others.

Several projects and initiatives based on advanced technology, such as artificial intelligence were also presented. An innovative analytical tool based on geospatial information systems (GIS) was also introduced. Additionally, some innovative services such as the compilation, analysis, and classification of satellite images using machine learning and artificial intelligence techniques were also introduced.

Members of the FCSA Board of Directors praised the efforts of FCSA’steam and the relevant initiatives. They recommended focusing on national and international indicators, especially those related to the National Agenda 2021. They also stressed the importance of cooperating and collaborating with the competent task forces of the federal government entities concerned with the national agenda by providing statistical data and competitive indicators in respect of each body and its terms of reference.

The meeting ended with an open discussion between members of the Board of Directors and the FCSA task team, where several ideas and proposals related to the FCSA 2019 operational plan were tackled. They underlined the importance of working together with all partners and cooperating with federal and local government agencies, private sector companies, international institutions, and society to achieve the vision of the UAE 2021.

The FCSA Board of Directors is chaired by the Minister of the Cabinet Affairs and the Future of the United Arab Emirates, and includes 18 members; namely H.E. Minister of Economy, H.E. Minister of Health and Community Protection, H.E. Minister of State for Financial Affairs, H.E. Minister of Health and Industry, H.E. Minister of Education, H.E. Minister of Human Resources and Emiratization, H.E. Minister of Community Development, H.E. Minister of State for Happiness and Quality of Life, H.E. Minister of State for Artificial Intelligence, H.E. Secretary General of the Office of H.H. Minister of Interior, H.E. Acting Director General of Identity in the Federal Authority for Identity and Citizenship, H.E. Deputy Secretary General of the Supreme Council for National Security, H.E. Chairman of the Board of Directors of Statistics Center – Abu Dhabi, H.E. Secretary General of Dubai Executive Council, H.E. Director General of Sharjah Department of Statistics and Community Development, H.E. Secretary General of the Ajman Executive Council, HE Secretary General of Umm Al Quwwain Executive Council, H.E. Director of Fujairah Emiri Diwan and H.E. Secretary General of the Ras Al Khaimah Executive Council.

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