UAE PM greets students nationwide on commencement of new academic year

The Vice President and Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, has re-affirmed the directives of President His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, calling for the doubling of efforts to upgrade government performance, policies and procedures, as well as evaluation of the results to achieve the aspirations of Emiratis and the UAE's competitive status. "Each of you should set a priority for his ministry to achieve the first position," he told Cabinet members during the session held today at the Presidential Palace. Sheikh Mohammed also congratulated students on the commencement of the new academic year, noting that "Pursuing education is the core of our culture and a national duty for all Emiratis." He reiterated that the government has been exerting utmost efforts to promote education, adding that "We want education based on innovation and creativity. The education that will bring up future leaders in all walks of life to follow up the course outlined by the founding fathers." The Vice President said that education is a passport to the future, where the UAE will be an important player in a global knowledge-based economy. The Cabinet session was attended by H.H. Lt. General Sheikh Saif bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the Interior and H.H. Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Presidential Affairs. The Council of Ministers approved a draft federal law on the amendment of some provisions of the civil procedures law of 1992. The bill aims to achieve justice and required balance between adversaries through several new provisions, such as the introduction of a case management system, enabling the filing of cases at the office of case management or registering them electronically. The new provisions also include the granting of opponents rights to appeal before the court that issued the judgment. The application of the new law will enhance the competitiveness of the state in the judicial field, and facilitate the issuance of rulings. The Cabinet also endorsed the Federal Government unified guide for financial procedures. This aims to streamline unified financial procedures for all financial operations of the Federal Government based on current financial laws and protection of public funds from risks. It approved the issuance of a federal law concerning the fight against banned substances in horse racing sports and equestrianism. The move aims to eliminate the abuse of banned substances in these local sports and maintain fair competition to promote the principle of sportsmanship. The Cabinet agreed to recall the Federal National Council (FNC) to convene its third session of the 15th legislative chapter. It agreed to the request of the FNC to discuss a topic on protection of the community from drugs. The Cabinet approved the recommendations from the Financial and Economic Committee on the amendment of the federal budget for the fiscal year 2013. The total requests for financial allocations made by nine federal institutions are over AED 705.7 million. It also approved the restructuring of the Board of Trustees of The National Human Resource Development and Employment Authority (TANMIA) under the chairmanship of Abdullah Ghobash and with the membership of eight leading experienced personnel. Regarding international agreements, the Cabinet approved three agreements for air transport with Finland, Uruguay and Niger. It also approved the second contribution of the UAE to the initiative of the International Monetary Fund on the Trust Fund for Growth and Reduction of Poverty.