Dubai Restructures Municipality, Seeks Economic Opportunities Worth $2.7 Bln

Ruler of Dubai, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, chairs the meeting of Dubai Council on Tuesday, May 10, 2022. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Ruler of Dubai, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, chairs the meeting of Dubai Council on Tuesday, May 10, 2022. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
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Dubai Restructures Municipality, Seeks Economic Opportunities Worth $2.7 Bln

Ruler of Dubai, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, chairs the meeting of Dubai Council on Tuesday, May 10, 2022. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Ruler of Dubai, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, chairs the meeting of Dubai Council on Tuesday, May 10, 2022. (Asharq Al-Awsat)

Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai announced Tuesday a new comprehensive structure for Dubai Municipality that supports the emirate’s priorities, future directions and development plans in various sectors.

This step aims to create economic opportunities worth AED10 billion ($2.7 billion) within five years, reduce operating costs by 10% and increase the quality of services by 20%.

This came during a meeting of the Dubai Council chaired by Sheikh Mohammed and attended by Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and First Deputy Chairman of the Dubai Council, and Sheikh Maktoum bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Deputy Ruler of Dubai, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Finance, and Second Deputy Chairman of the Dubai Council.

During the meeting, the Council approved a comprehensive restructuring of Dubai Municipality to achieve the future goals and directions of the emirate, in addition to approving a comprehensive restructuring of the Land Department and a new system to ensure the sustainability of family businesses in the emirate.

The restructuring aims to transform Dubai Municipality into a specialized institution that adopts a private sector mindset to provide high-quality municipal services.

It also seeks to enhance its ability to keep pace with global changes in the areas of environment, climate change, circular economy, and the acceleration of partnerships with the private sector.

The Council also approved the comprehensive restructuring of the Land Department to enhance Dubai's leadership and competitiveness in the real estate sector and raise operational efficiency by at least 20%.

Dubai’s Agenda for the sustainability of Family Businesses for the next 100 years aims to provide all the necessary factors and enable them to effectively contribute to the economy and the emirate’s future.

The Agenda will see Dubai issuing a unified law for the sustainability of family businesses that meets all legislative requirements.

As part of the agenda, the Dubai Center for Family Businesses will be established as a central entity responsible for providing all services that ensure family businesses’ sustainability, launching four practical legal systems for the governance of family businesses, and establishing a center for settling family disputes through arbitration and mediation.

The Council further announced the establishment of a higher committee, headed by Sheikh Hamdan, to oversee all future technological developments in the digital economy.

Sheikh Mohammed directed the committee to develop the Dubai Metaverse Strategy in the next two months to contribute to enhancing Dubai’s position as a global hub for new Metaverse technology.

Also, the Council approved the establishment of the Higher Committee for Development and Citizens Affairs, which aims to provide all the support needed by citizens through a specific work strategy that contributes to achieving the goals set by Sheikh Mohammed in this regard.

The Committee will focus on ensuring the provision of advanced and integrated services to citizens, in addition to launching and approving a number of comprehensive initiatives.



Washington Urges Israel to Extend Cooperation with Palestinian Banks

A West Bank Jewish settlement is seen in the background, while a protestor waves a Palestinian flag during a protest against Israel's separation barrier in the West Bank village of Bilin in 2012. (AP)
A West Bank Jewish settlement is seen in the background, while a protestor waves a Palestinian flag during a protest against Israel's separation barrier in the West Bank village of Bilin in 2012. (AP)
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Washington Urges Israel to Extend Cooperation with Palestinian Banks

A West Bank Jewish settlement is seen in the background, while a protestor waves a Palestinian flag during a protest against Israel's separation barrier in the West Bank village of Bilin in 2012. (AP)
A West Bank Jewish settlement is seen in the background, while a protestor waves a Palestinian flag during a protest against Israel's separation barrier in the West Bank village of Bilin in 2012. (AP)

The United States on Thursday called on Israel to extend its cooperation with Palestinian banks for another year, to avoid blocking vital transactions in the occupied West Bank.

"I am glad that Israel has allowed its banks to continue cooperating with Palestinian banks, but I remain convinced that a one-year extension of the waiver to facilitate this cooperation is needed," US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said Thursday, on the sidelines of a meeting of G20 finance ministers in Rio de Janeiro.

In May, Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich threatened to cut off a vital banking channel between Israel and the West Bank in response to three European countries recognizing the State of Palestine.

On June 30, however, Smotrich extended a waiver that allows cooperation between Israel's banking system and Palestinian banks in the occupied West Bank for four months, according to Israeli media, according to AFP.

The Times of Israel newspaper reported that the decision on the waiver was made at a cabinet meeting in a "move that saw Israel legalize several West Bank settlement outposts."

The waiver was due to expire at the end of June, and the extension permitted Israeli banks to process payments for salaries and services to the Palestinian Authority in shekels, averting a blow to a Palestinian economy already devastated by the war in Gaza.

The Israeli threat raised serious concerns in the United States, which said at the time it feared "a humanitarian crisis" if banking ties were cut.

According to Washington, these banking channels are key to nearly $8 billion of imports from Israel to the West Bank, including electricity, water, fuel and food.