Ministerial Services Council discusses setting up SME national scheme and council

National scheme for SMEs to work under the umbrella of the Ministry of Economy

Abu Dhabi: The Ministerial Services Council on Sunday held a meeting at the Presidential Palace to discuss the creation of a national scheme for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and a decision to set up a council for SMEs.

The meeting was chaired by Shaikh Mansour Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Presidential Affairs and Chairman of the Ministerial Services Council.

According to the plan, the national scheme for SMEs is to work under the umbrella of the Ministry of Economy to develop general plans for securing expertise, training and technical and administrative support from various fields for SMEs. It will also conduct periodic evaluation of SMEs and coordinate with the local and federal government departments and the private sector to market the product of these SMEs inside and outside the UAE. 
The planned scheme will coordinate with the relevant authorities to provide incentives for these SMEs.

The creation of a council for SMEs is in implementation of Federal Decree No 2 for 2014 on SMEs.

The planned council will consist of representatives of all relevant departments and stakeholders in the private and public sectors.

The new body will be responsible for developing policies, strategic plans for expanding the SME sector, as well as regulations and rules for coordination between the national scheme for SMEs and the relevant bodies. It will also follow up on the performance of the schemes.

The Ministerial Council recommended the submission of the decision to set up the SME council to the Cabinet for approval.

UAE Vision 2021

The plans are part of the government’s efforts to bolster sustainable economic development in the UAE, enhance competitiveness both regionally and internationally, and speed up the transformation of the UAE to an innovation, creativity and knowledge-based economy as required by the UAE Vision 2021.

The set target is to raise the contribution of SMEs to non-oil GDP to 70 per cent by 2021, according the “SME Contribution to Non-Oil GDP”, one of the national key performance indicators in the UAE Vision 2021.

During Sunday’s meeting, the Ministerial Council also discussed a memorandum from the UAE General Civil Aviation Authority, GCAA, on the “Convention and Aircraft Protocol on International Interests in Mobile Equipment on Matters Specific to Aircraft Equipment”.

It also reviewed a number of government reports by the State Audit Institution on the closing account of Emirates Real Estate Corp for fiscal year 2014, as well as the Shaikh Zayed Housing Programme.