UAE Cabinet plans for country's post-coronavirus future

New strategy is being developed to support the country's economy and medical sector

Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, chairs a UAE Cabinet meeting. Courtesy UAE Gov Twitter

The UAE Government has begun planning for the country's post-coronavirus future.

On Sunday, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, chaired a virtual UAE Cabinet meeting to discuss post-Covid-19 strategy.

Sheikh Mohammed spoke of the need to formulate a development plan to address immediate issue and long-term changes that must be made once coronavirus was no longer a global threat.

"Our national priorities need to be reviewed for a post-Covid-19 world. Our financial and human resources need to be redirected. Our healthcare, food and economic security needs to be further solidified through new programmes and projects.," Sheikh Mohammed said on Twitter.

"Preparing for a post-coronavirus world is to prepare for a new future that no one expected just a few months ago."

The Cabinet agreed to form a new task force, under the Ministry of Economy, that is charged with coming up with a plan to increase the "productivity and competitiveness" of the country's medical sector.

Sheikh Mohammed called for detailed policies to be drawn up to address the recovery and resumption of economic activity in the UAE.

كما طلبنا اليوم ضمن اجتماعنا إعداد خطة عاجلة لرفع مستوى الإنتاجية والتنافسية لقطاع الصناعات الطبية بالدولة .. وشكلنا فريق عمل برئاسة وزارة الطاقة والصناعة لذلك .. فرق العمل الجديدة مطلوب منها العمل بطريقة أسرع .. وأشمل .. وأكثر استجابة لمتغيرات يومية متسارعة . pic.twitter.com/jRRXpBQQES

— HH Sheikh Mohammed (@HHShkMohd) May 3, 2020

"New teams are required to work faster, more thoroughly and more responsively to the fast-changing daily developments," Sheikh Mohammed said.

The task force will review the sectors that have been hardest hit by the crisis and come up with ways to replenish their resources.

The team is expected to draft a comprehensive strategy that will meet future environmental, epidemiological and natural challenges.

Medical staff inside a Covid-19 screening centre at Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi. Reuters

A healthcare worker tests a man for Covid-19 at Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi. Reuters

A health worker examines a sample taken from a labourer in the Al Quoz district of Dubai. The UAE has significantly increased testing for the coronavirus that causes Covid-19. AFP

A medic takes samples from a worker at a testing centre in Al Quoz. AFP

A man wearing a protective mask has his body temperature reading taken upon arriving at the police station in Naif. AFP

An employee wears a protective face mask and shield while collecting carts outside a Lulu hypermarket in Dubai. Bloomberg

A man, wearing a protective mask to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, has his temperature taken at the Ibn Battuta centre in Dubai. AFP

Frontline workers, such as medics leading the fight against Covid-19, are being recognised in the UAE. Reuters

Sheikh Mohammed said the whole world would need to come up with new ways of working that focus on key sectors, including health, education, technology and food security.

Sheikh Mohammed has previously said that serious changes needed to be made in the world post-coronavirus.

“The reality of work will change and the way of work must change. The world after coronavirus needs different preparations … because it will be different."