The United Arab Emirates cabinet took a series of decisions on Sunday in response to the coronavirus outbreak, including waiving residency visa fines for the rest of the year, its vice president said.
Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum, who is also the UAE prime minister and ruler of Dubai, said authorities had directed factories to support the health sector's needs in the country.
"Today, and every day, we are learning new things. We will continue to improve our services and develop our tools to serve our people. The real value of government work is what we add to the country and to the life of our citizens and residents. During the current circumstances, we want to reach out to our people in a more effective way to support them and facilitate the services provided for them," Sheikh Mohammed said while chairing a virtual meeting of the UAE cabinet.
Minister of Economy Sultan bin Saeed Al Mansouri told the cabinet that the stimulus packages provided so far at a combined value of AED126.5 billion, would significantly contribute to mitigating the impact of COVID-19 on the economic sectors and ensure the sustainability of business and production.
Al Mansouri added that the ministry's officials in charge of the National SME Program are coordinating with federal and local stakeholders to identify and measure the ensuing impact on the entrepreneurial sector and come up with solutions to reduce business costs so they can deal with the challenges posed by the current crisis.
He further said that the committee, set up by the cabinet to address the impact of the COVID-19 outbreak on the nation’s economy, is currently working on additional measures to mitigate the repercussions on human resources and the economic sector.
Suhail bin Mohammed Faraj Faris Al Mazrouei, Minister of Energy and Industry, reviewed the efforts being made by his ministry, in coordination with the industrial sector.
''The UAE has a promising industrial sector and we have the resources to sustain economic diversification,'' said Al Mazrouei, adding that the ministry is coordinating with the National Industrial Coordination Council to regularly assess the current local production levels, so as to ensure local markets continue to have sufficient stocks of all essential products.
The minister explained that over 500 F&B plants registered with the ministry are currently operating to meet the local market demand as well as export to foreign markets.
He added that 70 national plants would supply the medical sector with all necessary equipment, medicine, solutions and medical gases, such as oxygen.
