Committee discusses draft federal budget ?for 2013

The Fiscal and Economic Committee on Tuesday reviewed the draft budget for the fiscal year 2013, which is the third and last year of the medium-term strategic federal budget plan 2011-2013 approved earlier by the cabinet. Directives were given by the committee to the ministry of finance to re-study the draft budget for the fiscal year 2013 in coordination with all federal departments. The decision which followed discussions at a meeting held at  the Presidential Palace in Abu Dhabi aims to enable the committee to submit the draft budget to relevant authorities on time. The meeting was chaired by Shaikh Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Deputy Ruler of Dubai and UAE Minister of Finance. Earlier, cash flows and progress made on the implementation of the budget for 2012 were discussed in light of a report by the ministry of finance covering the first quarter of fiscal year 2012. The meeting reviewed all requests by federal ministries and departments and their potential effect on the 2012 budget as well as on the draft 2013 budget. Present at the meeting were Shaikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Presidential Affairs and Deputy Chairman of the Committee; Shaikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, UAE Foreign Minister; Shaikh Hamdan bin Mubarak Al Nahyan, UAE Minister of Public Works; Dr Obaid Humaid Al Tayer, UAE Minister of State for Financial Affairs; Sultan bin Saeed Al Mansouri, UAE Minister of Economy; and Sultan bin Nasser Al Suweidi, Governor of the UAE Central Bank.