Hamdan bin Mohammed approves facilities for the economic sector in Dubai worth one billion dirhams
DUBAI, 30 March / WAM / His Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defence, Chairman of the Executive Council of the Emirate of Dubai, affirmed that the UAE has established, over decades, a solid global model for comprehensive development that raises the slogan of positivity and continuity in construction, and involves the individual, family and society in the path of development and achieving ambitions, and combines economic diversification and investment attraction in transforming strategic visions into reality, and is based on solid foundations and solid foundations. And flexible policies that make it stronger, better and more beautiful, no matter how circumstances and data change.
His Highness said that the UAE, with the vision of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the State, may God protect him, and His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, may God protect him, and with the determination of its people and its global model that is open to all, and its diverse, cohesive society that is optimistic about tomorrow, is well and looks with confidence to a better future for itself, for the region, for its economies and for its societies, whose title is flexibility, empowerment and leadership.
This came when His Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum chaired the meeting of the Executive Council of the Emirate of Dubai, during which a number of initiatives and strategies were approved in the sectors of empowering individuals and society, developing the elements of promoting trade and investment, measuring economic performance, and enhancing health and safety for the workforce, in the presence of His Highness Sheikh Maktoum bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, First Deputy Ruler of Dubai, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, and His Highness Sheikh Ahmed bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Second Deputy Ruler. Dubai.
His Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum explained: “Dubai has built a distinguished relationship based on credibility, transparency and mutual trust with its citizens, residents, visitors and investors in all its sectors… The promising opportunities in various sectors in Dubai are based on its strong model and will constantly attract those who are confident in its ambitious path that always looks towards the future.”
His Highness the Crown Prince of Dubai said: “We have integrated local capabilities, tremendous human potential, and solid strategic plans that enable us to respond to various circumstances. We continue to develop and implement strategic and governmental plans and economic and social agendas that serve all groups and maintain Dubai’s leadership at the forefront of global cities in development that includes everyone and views challenges as opportunities to achieve ambitions.”
His Highness approved facilities for the society and economy of Dubai totaling one billion dirhams for a period extending from 3 to 6 months, and including several vital sectors. His Highness said: “We have approved economic facilities worth one billion dirhams. In these exceptional circumstances, the Dubai government supports individuals, families and business sectors so that they overcome and exceed these circumstances.”
His Highness the Crown Prince of Dubai also approved the results of Dubai’s economic growth by 6.4% in the fourth quarter of 2025, in addition to the comprehensive update of the Emirate of Dubai’s gross domestic product. His Highness said: “The Dubai government is keen on accurate measurement and continuous evaluation of indicators and prospects for economic growth, and today we adopted a scientific methodology to measure the gross domestic product. Government planning for the long term reflects Dubai’s firm commitment to its citizens, people and society for the coming years and decades.”
His Highness stressed the importance of continuing the path of future planning based on Dubai’s global status and the international trade and economic partnerships it has achieved over decades of success and excellence, saying: “Developing the economy and future commercial opportunities is a continuous and non-stop path.” His Highness added: “We have also adopted an initiative that enhances the smooth entry of goods according to simplified and effective procedures through the concept of virtual warehouses, to consolidate Dubai’s position as a leading global center for trade and imports.”
In detail, the Executive Council of the Emirate of Dubai approved facilities for the economic sector, to enhance the capabilities of flexibility, readiness, and rapid response to changes, with a budget of one billion dirhams, covering various economic sectors and supporting enablers.
These facilities, which will come into effect as of April 1, 2026, include extending grace periods for customs declarations from 30 to 90 days for a period of 6 months, which can be extended for similar periods, with the need to comply with applicable tax legislation, in order to enhance the efficiency of supply chains and supply lines for basic and vital goods.
At the corporate level, the facilities include postponing the payment of a group of government fees for a period of 3 months with the aim of reducing the financial burden on companies and enhancing their liquidity. The list of deferred fees includes 3 fees for Dubai Municipality (return fees for the housing allowance of employees and workers, fees for public cleaning services, fees for improving services) and 4 fees for the Department of Economy and Tourism (license fees for optional applications such as a foreign name and others, fees for amendments, fees for advertising commercial licenses and their amendments, and local fees for commercial licenses).
The facilities also include supporting the tourism sector by postponing the collection of hotel sales fees by allowing hotel establishments to postpone the payment of 100% of the amounts collected from guests for a period of three months, and postponing the collection of the tourist dirham by allowing hotel establishments to postpone the payment of 100% of the amounts collected from guests for a period of three months.
At the level of government services, the list of facilities includes providing competitive advantages to facilitate procedures for issuing and renewing residency permits to open promising horizons for talented people, based on Dubai’s approach to supporting global talent. The facilities include all workers in various sectors to facilitate the process of moving workers from one facility to another in Dubai and its free zones in order to ensure the continuity of competent labor in the local economy.
The Executive Council also approved the results in which Dubai’s economy recorded a qualitative growth of 6.4% in the fourth quarter of 2025 and achieved an annual growth of 5.4% with a value of 937 billion dirhams in 2025. The Dubai Data and Statistics Corporation, affiliated with the Dubai Digital Authority, has adopted a model for comprehensive modernization of the methodology for measuring the emirate’s GDP, to enhance the comprehensiveness and accuracy of the measurement and ensure real-time follow-up and data-based strategic monitoring of economic performance in all circumstances.
Among the most notable improvements are: Which covers vital sectors such as financial services, real estate, construction and trade, expanding the implementation of economic surveys, which enhances the comprehensiveness of statistical coverage and the accuracy of representation of various economic activities and sectors, and ensuring the availability of more comprehensive and accurate administrative databases that reflect the actual performance of economic activities in accordance with approved international standards.
The new updates achieve a positive impact that keeps pace with the stages of development of Dubai’s economy and its opportunities in the short and long term, and contribute to building a more comprehensive system for measuring economic performance in Dubai, in a way that supports the requirements of strategic planning and decision-making in line with the objectives of the Dubai Economic Agenda D33.
To consolidate Dubai’s position as a global trade center, the Executive Council adopted the Virtual Warehouses Initiative, which aims to facilitate temporary import procedures into Dubai, ensuring smooth entry according to simplified and effective procedures. The initiative, in its first phase, contributes to facilitating the smooth import of high-value works of art and consolidating Dubai’s position as a global leader in this field.
The Virtual Warehouses Initiative, supervised by Dubai Customs, provides customs facilities, based on the introduction of a new regulatory procedure based on the temporary entry declaration, and provides qualitative advantages, most notably not paying customs duties or financial deposits upon import, suspending customs duties on private works of art for a period of three years, removing geographical restrictions on the scope of temporary entry, simplifying and reducing the steps for extending the time upon expiration of the period, in addition to creating virtual copies of works of art that contribute to continuous tracking of them using the latest technology.
The initiative contributes to launching packages specifically designed for wealthy individuals in various sectors and providing customs facilities to achieve mutual gains for all parties concerned. Dubai Customs initiated the experimental implementation of the “Art Flow” initiative, as this experience facilitated the procedures for importing works of art, which contributed to providing smooth financial and procedural advantages.
The Council adopted the Dubai Empowerment Strategy, under the supervision of the Dubai Community Development Authority, which comes to achieve the priorities of the Dubai Social Agenda 33, especially empowering Emirati individuals and raising their productivity and economic contribution in order to achieve their self-sufficiency and financial independence.
The strategy stems from the vision of building an empowered and financially stable society, and is based on the successes achieved by the Dubai Empowerment Program in achieving financial independence for 1,200 young citizens, by enabling them to obtain jobs made available by the Community Development Authority in Dubai, in cooperation with strategic partners, and the number reaches 7,000 job opportunities, through more than 400 entities in the emirate.
The strategy aims to raise the standard of living for citizens by enhancing financial stability for individuals and families, and expanding opportunities for access to work and sustainable income, which contributes to building a more stable and cohesive society, and enhances the well-being of individuals and the sustainability of social development.
The Dubai Empowerment Strategy also aims to design dedicated empowerment paths for all beneficiaries who are able to work, enhance programs and services that enable access to employment opportunities, provide proactive interventions that provide an alternative to relying on government benefits, strengthen partnerships with government and private agencies and civil society institutions, and develop operational readiness to implement empowerment initiatives.
The strategy focuses on empowering citizens in the Emirate of Dubai according to two important paths: the path of job seekers; By connecting them to the opportunities and entities that provide them, and the path of entrepreneurship from home; Which stimulates innovative entrepreneurial ideas that enhance income through emerging and commercial projects that can be managed from home.
The Executive Council also approved the Health and Safety Strategy in Labor Housing, which seeks to achieve strategic goals by the year 2033, most notably: 100% of workers’ access to basic services, and 100% of the level of labor housing’s commitment to health and safety regulations and legislation, in order to ensure the happiness of workers and the quality of working and housing conditions for them, in line with the Dubai Urban Plan 2040, and the regulations issued by the International Labor Organization, and in continuation of the path of implementing strategic visions in Dubai according to the established time plans.
The health and safety strategy in labor housing stems from the vision of providing pioneering labor housing in achieving happiness, and sets a set of objectives, the most important of which are ensuring the comfort and protection of workers living in labor housing, proactively promoting and sustaining public health therein, and developing permanent follow-up procedures for the safety of labor housing and mechanisms for preventing and dealing with accidents therein, while ensuring that the standards of those housing comply with all applicable laws and regulations related to health and safety, in order to proactively promote and sustain public health within them.
The strategy includes several initiatives, foremost of which is developing a comprehensive study of laws and legislation, developing a flexible and effective legislative framework that ensures adherence to health, safety and environmental standards and guarantees workers’ rights in accordance with best international practices and standards, in addition to developing a policy for allocating lands for workers’ housing, and providing suitable sites that support the construction of safe and sustainable residential complexes.
The strategy also includes other initiatives, such as a project to evaluate and upgrade the infrastructure of labor areas, including health and community services, and a pioneering and sustainable labor housing project, labor housing that has an integrated infrastructure and quality services that contribute to enhancing the quality of life, and consolidating practices of sustainability and environmental responsibility.
To enhance safety standards, the strategy proposes initiatives such as: the effective management system for hazardous materials, the food safety and environmental safety program in labor housing, the disaster management and emergency response system, in addition to an integrated and effective supervisory system that enhances compliance, ensures the sustainability of the quality of labor housing, and enhances readiness and the ability to respond effectively to emergency situations and limit their effects.
- For more: Follow Khaleejion 24 Arabic, Khaleejion 24 English, Khaleejion 24 Live, and for social media follow us on Facebook and Related
