The Ministerial Development Council, headed by H.H. Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Presidential Affairs, highlighted the importance of preserving national antiquities and reviving cultural heritage to reinforcing national identity and patriotism.

This came during a meeting held today at Qasr Al Watan in Abu Dhabi, chaired by H.H. Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, which discussed several topics and initiatives related to modernising federal governmental work.

The Council also discussed the issuance of the executive regulations of federal law on antiquities adopted by the Ministry of Culture and Youth to preserve the country’s antiquities, to reinforce national identity, protect the country’s cultural heritage, and support excavations to discover more antiquities.

The law’s executive regulations include provisions related to protecting local and foreign antiquities during times of crises and disasters, and the conditions for transporting antiquities as permitted by relevant authorities, as well as the requirements for the planning departments, municipalities and other related authorities of cities when planning and implementing projects and excavations to protect archaeological sites, in addition to the role of the ministry and relevant authorities in training Emirati archaeologists.

During the meeting, the Council discussed ways of supporting and encouraging tourism, attracting tourists to the UAE, reinforcing the country’s position as a leading regional and international tourism and investment destination, and enabling it to compete in the global tourism sector, as well as supporting national tourism companies.

The Council also discussed an amendment to certain provisions of the executive regulations of federal law on foreigners’ residence, and ways of improving government work and federal productivity, as well as developing systems and drafting regulations and employee contracts to achieve the highest levels of performance.

The Council then reviewed a report by the Ministry of Finance on the contributions of the federal government to some Arab companies, and a financial performance report on the implementation of the UAE’s general budget in the first quarter of 2020.