His Highness Sheikh Maktoum bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, First Deputy Ruler of Dubai, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, reviewed the annual report of the Ministry of Finance for the year 2025, entitled “Financial Efficiency and Global Impact.”
The report monitors the Ministry’s progress in formulating government financial policy and directing development paths, reviewing the most prominent achievements achieved during the past year, and the financial indicators that reflect the strength of the national economy and its ability for sustainable growth.
Universal model
His Highness Sheikh Maktoum bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum stressed that the UAE, with the vision and directives of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the State, may God protect him, and his brother His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, may God protect him, continues to establish a unique global model for sustainable development, based on human empowerment, stimulating innovation, and achieving leadership in all fields.
His Highness explained that this wise vision made the UAE a driving force for economic stability and a global model for achieving comprehensive growth, which strengthens the position of the Ministry of Finance as a strategic pillar, leading financial policies that support the country’s march towards the goals of the “UAE Centenary 2071.”
His Highness said: “2025 was an exceptional year in our journey towards (financial efficiency and global influence), as we succeeded in transforming global challenges into opportunities for growth and excellence. Our role was not limited to managing resources only, but we focused on enhancing the sustainability of the financial system and developing flexible legislation that kept pace with the rapid digital transformations, and contributed to attracting quality investments and building solid strategic partnerships between the public and private sectors.”
His Highness pointed out that the Ministry of Finance has established a system of proactive financial innovation, which relies on engineering digital solutions and artificial intelligence to raise the efficiency of financial decisions and secure financial resources for future generations, stressing that this transformation reflects the Ministry’s constant endeavor to empower the national economy with modern tools that enhance the UAE’s ability to confront global changes, and consolidate its position among the most efficient and transparent financial systems at the international level.
His Highness added: “The UAE continues to contribute to shaping global financial trends, by supporting policies that promote sustainable growth and expand opportunities for cooperation in the financial, economic and investment sectors, within the framework of the country’s commitment to responsible participation in addressing global economic challenges and enhancing the stability of the international financial system.”
His Highness continued: “The Ministry of Finance’s annual report for 2025 reflects the qualitative transformation witnessed by the UAE’s financial system, through adopting flexible and sustainable financial policies based on efficiency, innovation, and readiness for the future, which supports the competitiveness of the national economy and enhances the UAE’s position globally.”
Hub station
In turn, Minister of State for Financial Affairs, Mohammed bin Hadi Al Husseini, said: “The year 2025 represents a pivotal milestone in translating the vision of our wise leadership into a tangible reality, as the Ministry of Finance continues its role as a strategic partner in advancing sustainable development, by establishing flexible financial policies that strengthen the strength of the national economy, and raise the efficiency of managing federal financial resources, in line with national directions to create a financial future characterized by flexibility and leadership.”
He stressed that this firm commitment places on the Ministry the responsibility of developing innovative financial policies that balance financial discipline and comprehensive economic growth, noting that the Ministry focused during the year 2025 on modernizing the legislative and tax frameworks that ensure the stability of the UAE’s financial position, and at the same time support the business environment, which contributes to achieving the goals of the “We Are the Emirates 2031 Vision” aimed at strengthening the country’s position as a leading global financial center.
In terms of enhancing sovereign resources, Al-Husseini said that the Ministry of Finance continued its efforts to develop advanced financing tools and a fair and transparent tax system in line with the highest international standards, which has strengthened the confidence of global institutions in the UAE’s financial approach, noting that this path does not only aim to support the federal budget, but in essence seeks to secure the sustainability of resources for future generations, and ensure the state’s ability to finance major transformational projects, in a way that supports the process of sustainable growth in the various economic sectors in the country.
“Federal Budget”
The federal budget for 2025 amounted to about 71.5 billion dirhams, with balanced revenues and expenditures, while the government adopted the federal budget plan for 2026, with a total of 92.4 billion dirhams, an increase of 29% over the 2025 budget, which reflects the strength of the national economy, the flexibility of financial policies, and their ability to support future development paths.
The report monitored the continued development of non-oil revenues, through modernizing the tax system, enhancing tax compliance, and expanding the scope of international agreements. The report also included a presentation of the comprehensive development witnessed by the Ministry of Finance of the financial legislative and regulatory framework, through issuing and updating an integrated system of laws and decisions related to taxes, government revenues, and public finance, which enhanced transparency and financial certainty, and raised the efficiency of the tax system.
The report reviewed the developments witnessed in the federal tax system, including modernizing corporate tax legislation, value-added tax, and excise tax, developing the electronic invoicing system, and adopting the graduated volume model for the excise tax on sweetened beverages.
The report also indicated that the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development classified the country’s minimum local supplementary tax as an “approved qualified transitional status,” which enhances the UAE’s competitiveness and aligns its tax system with the best international standards.
“Islamic treasury instruments”
The report indicated that the Ministry of Finance recorded an exceptional year in the Islamic Treasury Sukuk programme, by implementing nine auctions that achieved high coverage and reached a total value of 9.9 billion dirhams. The year 2025 also witnessed the launch of the “Individual Sukuk” initiative, which provided citizens and residents with a direct and easy investment opportunity, with fractional investments starting from 4,000 dirhams, after signing strategic partnerships with three national banks to allow subscription through their digital platforms, which are Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank, Emirates NBD, and Emirates Islamic Bank.
As part of the Ministry of Finance’s direction towards building an advanced digital financial system, the report highlighted the launch and development of a group of digital initiatives and technical projects that aimed to raise the efficiency of government financial operations, enhance data quality and speed of decision-making.
Strong sovereign ratings
The report reviewed a number of qualitative achievements that have enhanced the UAE’s global competitiveness, most notably the country’s advancement to 16th place in the world in the “Government Support Index” for the year 2025, within the Global Competitiveness Yearbook issued by (IMD), and the country’s maintenance of strong and stable sovereign credit ratings from major international rating agencies, as the country obtained an (AA-) rating from Fitch, an (Aa2) rating from Moody’s, and an (AA) rating from S&P. B Global, all with a stable future outlook, in addition to its progress in international competitiveness indicators related to government support and the efficiency of financial statements.
The report highlighted the Ministry of Finance’s continued investment in developing national competencies, through specific initiatives aimed at preparing a generation of financial cadres, noting the launch of the “Emirates Global Cadres” initiative.
Maktoum bin Mohammed:
• We succeeded in transforming global challenges into opportunities for growth and excellence, and we focused on enhancing the sustainability of the financial system and developing flexible legislation.
