General Budget Committee discusses draft general budget for fiscal year 2025

The meeting

In the presence of His Highness Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Vice President, Deputy Prime Minister and Chairman of the Presidential Court, and H.H. Sheikh Maktoum bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, First Deputy Ruler of Dubai, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, the General Budget Committee held its 11th meeting to discuss the draft general budget of the UAE for the fiscal year 2025.

The meeting, held at Qasr Al Watan in Abu Dhabi, was also attended by Mohammad bin Abdullah Al Gergawi, Minister of Cabinet Affairs; Mohamed Hadi Al Hussaini, Minister of State for Financial Affairs; and Khaled Mohamed Balama, Governor of the Central Bank of the UAE (CBUAE), in addition to representatives of the Presidential Court and the Ministry of Finance.

During its meeting, the committee discussed a number of topics, most notably the draft general budget for the fiscal year 2025 within the budget plan for the years 2022-2026. This was done in accordance with the coordination carried out by the Ministry of Finance with all federal entities for the purpose of preparing the federal budget, taking into account developments in the local and global economic landscape. The necessary procedures were taken within the framework of the provisions governing the preparation and presentation of the budget as stipulated in Federal Decree-Law No. (26) of 2019 on public finance, its amendments, and the relevant decisions and recommendations.

The committee directed that the necessary procedures be completed for preparing the draft federal budget for the year 2025, and then it should be submitted to the Cabinet.

The committee reviewed the federal government’s cash flow for the fiscal year, including actual revenues collected during the past period of the current fiscal year and revenue projections for the remainder of the year, based on updated revenue forecasts for federal entities.

The committee also reviewed the financial position of the federal government for the fiscal year 2024 in light of the actual expenditures and revenues during the first half of 2024. The indicators reflect the growth of the national economy witnessed by the UAE across various sectors and activities.

Additionally, the committee was briefed on updates regarding the approved capital and developmental projects completed during the past months of the 2024 fiscal year.

The Cabinet approved the federal budget for the fiscal year 2024, with revenues amounting to AED 65.728 billion and expenditures amounting to AED 64.060 billion.