The Sharjah Award in Public Finance launches its fourth session from Cairo

CAIRO, 15 JULY / WAM / The Sharjah Award in Public Finance, in cooperation with the Arab Organization for Administrative Development – League of Arab States, launched its fourth session (2026-2027), during a ceremony held at the organization’s headquarters in Cairo, marking the launch of a new phase of institutional and individual competition at the level of the Arab world, and consolidating its role as a leading Arab platform for spreading the culture of excellence in public finance, stimulating innovation, exchanging best practices, and enhancing the efficiency of government financial management, which contributes to the development of… Institutional performance, supporting financial sustainability, and keeping pace with the aspirations of Arab governments towards a more efficient and innovative future.

The launch of the fourth session was attended by His Excellency Dr. Walid Al Sayegh, Director General of the Sharjah Central Finance Department, Chairman of the Award’s Board of Trustees, and Dr. Nasser Al-Qahtani, Director General of the Arab Organization for Administrative Development at the League of Arab States, Vice Chairman of the Award’s Board of Trustees, along with members of the Board of Trustees, and a number of officials, experts, and specialists in public administration and finance from various Arab countries.

The launch ceremony was preceded by a meeting of the Award’s Board of Trustees, which witnessed the adoption of the guide for the fourth session, after a comprehensive review of the award’s categories, evaluation criteria, participation mechanisms, and the electronic system, which reflects the Council’s keenness to continuously develop the award and enhance its readiness to receive entries from various Arab countries in accordance with the best international practices in managing financial awards.

The Council also discussed the stages of implementing the new session, which include introducing the award, opening registration, organizing introductory workshops, receiving nomination applications, and evaluation and arbitration processes, leading to approving the results and announcing and honoring the winners, ensuring the application of the highest standards of transparency and governance in all stages of the award, and strengthening its position as one of the most prominent Arab awards specialized in public finance.

The launch ceremony witnessed a review of the award’s vision and mission, and the most prominent developments of the fourth session, in addition to introducing its categories, criteria, and participation mechanism, in addition to showing an introductory film about the award, followed by an open discussion with the participants, in confirmation of its role in spreading a culture of quality and excellence, stimulating innovation, and developing institutional and financial performance in Arab government agencies.

On this occasion, His Excellency Dr. Walid Al Sayegh, Director General of the Sharjah Central Finance Department and Chairman of the Award’s Board of Trustees, confirmed that the launch of the fourth session represents a new station in the award’s journey, and embodies its continued commitment to supporting financial excellence, promoting a culture of innovation, and developing the public finance system in Arab countries, based on the vision of His Highness Sheikh Dr. Sultan bin Muhammad Al Qasimi, Member of the Supreme Council and Ruler of Sharjah, to consolidate a culture of excellence, invest in knowledge, and build more efficient, transparent and sustainable government institutions.

He said: In the fourth session, we were keen to develop the award guide and its criteria to keep pace with the rapid changes in government financial management, enhance transparency and objectivity in evaluation processes, and provide a competitive environment that stimulates institutions and individuals to present qualitative initiatives and experiences that are applicable and developed, which contributes to improving the public finance system at the level of the Arab world, and enhances the exchange of experiences and the transfer of best practices between government institutions.

He added: The award is no longer limited to honoring the distinguished, but has become an Arab platform for exchanging knowledge, creating excellence, stimulating innovation, and building capabilities, in a way that supports the development of financial policies, raises the efficiency of public money management, and keeps pace with the aspirations of Arab governments towards achieving sustainable development and anticipating the future. We continue to work on developing the award to be a leading Arab reference in disseminating best practices in public finance, and promoting a culture of institutional excellence, in line with the vision of His Highness the Ruler of Sharjah in enabling knowledge and innovation as two basic pillars for building a future. More prosperous and sustainable.

For his part, Dr. Nasser Al-Qahtani, Director General of the Arab Organization for Administrative Development at the League of Arab States, Vice Chairman of the Award’s Board of Trustees, confirmed that the Sharjah Award in Public Finance has become one of the leading Arab initiatives in the field of administration and public finance, due to the role it plays in spreading the culture of excellence, encouraging innovation, highlighting successful government experiences, and motivating institutions to adopt best practices in financial management.

He said: The award represents a successful model of Arab partnership aimed at developing financial and administrative thought, promoting positive competition between government institutions, and creating a platform that brings together distinguished expertise and experiences, which contributes to building a more efficient and flexible financial system, and keeps pace with the aspirations of Arab governments towards sustainable development.

He added that the Arab Organization for Administrative Development continues its cooperation with the Government of Sharjah to develop the award and expand the scope of its impact at the Arab level, thus enhancing its position as an Arab reference for excellence in public finance.

The fourth session includes 24 categories, including 12 institutional categories and 12 individual categories, covering various areas of public finance, including excellence in financial management, electronic financial systems and applications, financial innovation, financial project management, oversight, auditing and risk management, financial sustainability, financial services, scientific research, and financial training, in addition to categories dedicated to leaders, experts, researchers and workers in the Arab government financial sector, in a way that enhances positive competition and encourages the highlighting of pioneering experiences and the exchange of knowledge.

The award adopts an integrated evaluation system based on clear scientific standards, including leadership, legislation and policies, financial systems and applications, efficiency of operations and services, results and performance indicators, continuous improvement and anticipating the future, while obligating participating parties to provide evidence and documents proving their fulfillment of the requirements of each standard, ensuring the highest levels of transparency and fairness in evaluation. As for the individual categories, they are evaluated according to three main axes that include performance management and growth, unique achievements, development and scientific research.

The Sharjah Award in Public Finance is based on a vision to be “a pioneering and distinguished Arab award in the field of public finance,” while its mission stems from promoting and disseminating a culture of quality and excellence, exchanging experiences and best practices, and supporting capacity and competency building, which contributes to developing the performance of Arab financial institutions, and consolidating the concepts of innovation, governance, and sustainability in the management of public money.

The launch ceremony concluded with an invitation to government institutions and financial and research cadres in various Arab countries to participate in the fourth session, and to benefit from the platform provided by the award to highlight pioneering experiences, exchange experiences, and contribute to the development of the public finance system, in a way that enhances the culture of institutional excellence and supports the process of government development and joint Arab action.

The award will begin receiving applications for nominations from today, July 15, 2026, until the end of December 2026, with the start of implementing activities to introduce the award, and conducting introductory tours in all Arab countries, in a way that supports participants in preparing nomination files, and supports financial training through training courses in public finance accompanying the introductory tours. There will also be cooperation with the award’s ambassadors from the winners of previous rounds, to introduce the award and spread its message, and hold many introductory and awareness-raising activities about preparing files, and conveying their distinguished experiences in the field. Participation in the award.

It is expected that this session will constitute a new starting point for the award, in light of the accumulation of experiences gained from three successful sessions, which included many strengths, opinion polls of the target groups, and media resonance, in addition to a number of accompanying events and activities, which contributed to the preparation of a new and distinguished model that meets the ambitions of the distinguished, and maintains previous successes.

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