His Excellency Khalfan Belhoul, CEO of Dubai Future Foundation (DFF), stressed the importance of concerted national efforts, and consolidating the culture of partnership, to enhance cooperation between government entities in Dubai, and exchange experiences and to reach an integrated work system, in line with the objectives and strategies of building the future.
This came during the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with The Supreme Legislation Committee, the Dubai Competitiveness Office at the Department of Economic Development, and Smart Dubai to support the second phase of the Dubai 10X initiative. Dubai 10X was launched by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, and aims to implement Dubai's vision to be the city of the future through new mechanisms that simulate the future and contribute to the sustainability of its competitiveness, making it ten years ahead of it a pioneer for other cities.
Belhoul added that the directives of His Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai, Chairman of Dubai Executive Council and Chairman of DFF's Board of Trustees, stresses the importance of partnership and cooperation between all parties to work together according to flexible mechanisms to deal with the variables and requirements of the future, and contribute to the sustainability of Dubai's competitiveness.
The MoU was signed by His Excellency Khalfan Belhoul, CEO of Dubai Future Foundation, Dr. Aisha Bint Butti Bin Bishr, Director General of the Smart Dubai Office, His Excellency Ahmad Saeed bin Meshar Al Muhairi, Secretary General of the Supreme Legislation Committee and His Excellency Hani Rashid Al Hamli, Secretary General of Dubai Competitiveness Office in DED. The ceremony was further attended by Her Highness Shaikha Mona Al Moalla, Deputy Secretary General of Dubai Competitiveness Office, His Excellency Younus Al Nasser, Assistant Director General at the Smart Dubai Office (SDO), CEO of the Dubai Data Establishment and Abdulaziz AlJaziri, Deputy CEO at Dubai Future Foundation.
The importance of legislation in organizing the Dubai 10X projects
The Supreme Legislation Committee plays an important role as a strategic and legislative supporter of the Dubai 10X initiative since its inception. Any project adopted requires a regulatory framework and special legislation to implement it. The committee works to review policies and reach recommendations to amend or add new legislation, in addition to the formulation of commercial, economic and financial laws and the adoption of the necessary legislation for projects approved in the second phase of the initiative.
His Excellency Ahmad Saeed bin Meshar Al Muhairi, Secretary General of the Supreme Legislation Committee in Dubai, noted that the MoU with DFF is a strong push towards strengthening government integration and harnessing joint efforts to serve the national trend towards building a leading model for future cities. He stressed the importance of continuous commitment to strengthen effective cooperation with government entities and continue Dubai's pioneering achievements in innovation, creativity, and excellence in anticipating and shaping the future, as this contributes to propelling Dubai ten years ahead of other cities.
“Based on our pioneering legislative role, we have the responsibility to improve the legislative and legal system of Dubai, in line with the requirements of the comprehensive and sustainable development process. This is based on a clear vision in the development of up-to-date legislation to reflect the aspirations of the wise leadership to make Dubai the city of the future, to support the vision of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum. We look forward to contributing to the success of the second phase of Dubai 10X by reviewing trade, economic and financial legislation, and renewing our commitment to enhance the flexibility of legislation issued by the Government of Dubai to accommodate future developments,” added Al Muhairi.
Comprehensive report on the competitiveness of the initiative’s projects
Dubai Competitiveness Office offers support to the teams and provides them with the required information to ensure project implementation and success; together with an annual report on the competitiveness of the 26 projects from the first phase. These projects are grouped into a single report measuring their impact on indicators of international competitiveness. The report can also include new joint indicators to measure the impact of the initiatives, by the Dubai Competitiveness Office and the Dubai 10X initiative, with the launch of the first report upon completion.
This partnership with the Dubai Competitiveness Office enables the use of the indicators platform as a tool to track the impact of initiatives and progress in achieving returns on the emirate's indicators, with best practices for reference comparisons. A special theme related for the Dubai 10X initiative can also be added to the platform.
Hani Rashid Al Hamli, Secretary General of Dubai Competitiveness Office, said, “Through this MoU, we aim to unify our efforts to support the strategy of the Government of Dubai to enhance the emirate’s position and competitiveness in international forums. We will use the Dubai Competitiveness Platform as a tool to follow up the impact of Dubai 10X initiatives and its related projects across Dubai, by making comparisons according to the best practices to review and achieve the best results, in addition to adding a special theme for the Dubai 10X initiative at the Dubai Competitiveness platform”.
“The team will prepare a detailed annual report on all the projects adopted by the Dubai 10X initiative and measure the associated international competitiveness indicators to study their impact on enhancing the competitiveness of the emirate. The report will use the latest global indicators, as well as support and technical advice to all the groups working on initiatives. It aims to ensure enhancing the competitiveness of the emirate and the positive impact of these initiatives on the emirate’s competitiveness, which is the philosophy of Dubai 10X,” added Al Hamli.
Partner in Data Management, Shared Services and Training Participants
As per the partnership agreement, Smart Dubai will work to support 10X projects from phases one and two through the Dubai Data Establishment, who will be granting them access to city data and providing technical support. Smart Dubai will be placing the expertise of its various teams at the disposal of the 10X taskforces through training workshops and by opening up Smart Dubai’s hi-tech platforms. Furthermore, a dedicated section for Dubai 10X projects will be introduced to the Dubai Pulse platform, allowing for easier access to data.
Her Excellency Dr Aisha Bint Butti Bin Bishr, Director General of the Smart Dubai Office (SDO), said: “Dubai 10X is an ambitious platform allowing us to formulate future-focused solutions today. In order to determine what Dubai will need 10 years from now, we must dedicate the unprecedented potential afforded to us by data analysis, which is the foundation of smart decision-making, not only when it pertains to the present, but also when we anticipate the challenges of the future, and this is where our close partnership with the Dubai Future Foundation – and the Dubai 10X initiative, in particular – comes in.”
Meanwhile, His Excellency Younus Al Nasser, Assistant Director General at the Smart Dubai Office (SDO), CEO of the Dubai Data Establishment, said: “We truly believe that no smart transformation can be achieved without harnessing the power of data, which has come to be known around the world as the ‘Oil of the Future’. Therefore, our journey to the future will only move forward in full force once we are capable of accurately forecasting it by opening and sharing data, notably through the Dubai Pulse platform – the digital backbone of the smart transformation process. We will be placing these advancements and many others at the disposal of companies and teams taking part of the accelerator programmes. The future belongs to those who can best analyse data and tap into its full potential.”
The second phase of the initiative is based on the participation of the Dubai 10X teams in expertise, skills, resources and minds within a common sector framework to deliver and launch joint initiatives covering all key sectors affecting quality of life. These include tourism, economy, security, safety, health, emergency, community life, infrastructure, sustainability, education, among others.
In its second phase, the initiative aims to make a positive impact on the lives of community members in Dubai, by shortening procedures, offering innovative government services and finding solutions to the challenges; this contributes to promote Dubai’s leading position as a global destination for innovative and models of government excellence.
