UAE ministries may be merged to fight coronavirus, says Mohammed

Gulf Today, Staff Reporter

His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, chaired a virtual meeting with UAE ministers. 

Sheikh Mohammed said on Twitter, “Today, we concluded the meetings of the UAE government to prepare the state’s strategy after the COVID-19... We will review the structure and size of the government... We may merge ministries and we do not change bodies…. We need a more agile, flexible and speedy government to keep pace with new and different national priorities. The world will not be the same after Covid-19.”

Sheikh Abdullah Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, stated that Sheikh Mohammed is always capable of turning challenges into opportunities.

"The world is witnessing an unprecedented crisis due to the coronavirus pandemic, which clearly highlights the importance of the correct foreign policy and its results. During the current dire circumstances, domestic and foreign policies need to rely more on science. Today, we are seeing how hard scientists and engineers around the world are working to provide ventilators and test equipment, which are luckily abundant in our country," he said.

"We are waiting to find a vaccine to protect people from the coronavirus, so that life can return to normal everywhere. During this fierce battle against the virus, our true heroes, scientists and engineers, are working hard to protect public health, treat patients and provide us with protection and testing equipment. Therefore, science must be prioritised in our national policies," he added.