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UAE: Ministry of Finance launches 2027–2029 budget cycle
Vision focused on sustainability, efficiency, and artificial intelligence
- PUBLISHED: Wed 16 Jul 2025, 3:59 PM UPDATED: Wed 16 Jul 2025, 10:36 PM
The UAE Ministry of Finance on Wednesday launched the federal general budget cycle for the 2027–2029 period, aiming to enhance fiscal sustainability and align with the nation's ambition for a more flexible and innovative future.
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This new cycle reflects the evolution of the general budget from a yearly planning tool into a strategic instrument that empowers federal entities to achieve their objectives efficiently and effectively.
The new federal budget cycle for 2027–2029 represents a significant leap towards smart financial management, underpinned by modern tools and proactive methodologies.
Based on performance-based planning and results-driven execution, this model harnesses artificial intelligence to strengthen decision-making and maximise the accuracy of resource allocation.
Today, financial planning goes beyond numerical forecasting; it is a smart system capable of generating predictive scenarios. From accelerating service delivery to streamlining operations and providing entities with access to unified, high-accuracy data, the system represents a major step forward, significantly improving the speed and quality of financial decision-making.
Through this approach, the federal budget is redefined as a strategic enabler, driving operational efficiency, reinforcing financial sustainability, and solidifying the UAE’s global standing as a model for advanced public financial management.
“The larger budget for the upcoming cycle builds on this momentum by putting more funds into important sectors that support long-term growth. It also helps move the UAE closer to its goal of reaching a GDP of Dh3 trillion within the next decade, while strengthening its role as a global hub. This smart investment strategy, guided by sustainable development and strong leadership, is designed to make the UAE’s economy even stronger and more future-ready,” Vijay Valecha, chief investment officer, Century Financial, told Khaleej Times.
The newly launched budget cycle follows four consecutive strategic cycles during which the total federal budget reached approximately Dh900 billion, aligned with ambitious national priorities.
Over this period, the ministry laid strong foundations for sound financial governance by enhancing legislative and regulatory frameworks, expanding international partnerships, and developing advanced digital financial systems.
It also maintained stable public debt levels, which stood at just Dh62.1 billion as of June 2025, and increased federal government assets to around Dh464.4 billion by the end of 2024, underscoring the UAE’s solid financial position.
The new budget cycle focuses on key sectors, including education, healthcare, social welfare, and core government services. It reflects a renewed vision to empower federal entities to deliver high-quality, efficient, and flexible services.
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Investing in these vital areas is key to stimulating sustainable national development and achieving the long-term objectives of UAE Centennial 2071. The new cycle will seek to allocate resources for maximum developmental, social, and economic impact, supported by digital tools and artificial intelligence to improve planning accuracy, execution speed, and service quality.
The launch coincided with the unveiling of the federal government’s new strategic planning cycle, ‘Towards Achieving We the UAE 2031’, by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai.
Sheikh Maktoum bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, First Deputy Ruler of Dubai and Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance of the UAE, stressed that the 2027–2029 federal budget cycle will play a key role in the development of the UAE’s public financial system.
“Achieving the ambitions of UAE Centennial 2071 requires a financial system that is agile and future-focused, a system that can respond to global shifts and direct government spending toward high-impact opportunities,” Sheikh Maktoum said. “To that end, the MoF is investing in smart tools and advanced analytical models that ensure financial efficiency, optimise impact, and enable data-driven decision-making aligned with the nation’s developmental, economic, and social goals,” he added.
Mohamed bin Hadi Al Hussaini, Minister of State for Financial Affairs, stressed that the 2027–2029 budget cycle builds on a solid foundation of fiscal accomplishments and reflects a forward-looking vision focused on empowering government entities and aligning strategy with performance indicators.
Al Hussaini added: “The ministry’s transformation over recent years extends beyond legislative and digital reforms to include a complete redesign of the budgeting experience. The number of budget preparation steps was reduced from 50 to just 10, and procurement cycles were shortened from 60 days to under six minutes, a leap forward in institutional efficiency and performance acceleration.”
The federal budget for the year 2025 totals Dh71.5 billion in revenues and Dh71.5 billion in estimated expenditures, maintaining a balanced approach between income and spending.
Dh27.859 billion, representing 39 per cent of the total federal budget, has been dedicated to the social development and pensions sector. Of this amount, Dh10.914 billion (15.3 per cent) is allocated to public and higher education programmes. Dh5.745 billion (8 per cent) is allocated to healthcare and community prevention services. Dh25.570 billion (35.7 per cent of the total budget) is allocated to the government affairs sector.
The UAE’s growing budget shows its strong focus on public investment, especially in areas like social development, government services, and infrastructure. It also reflects the country’s healthy financial position, as it continues to spend more while keeping a balanced budget. This growth supports the UAE’s plan to move away from relying mainly on oil by building up other parts of the economy and improving public services, analysts say.
This progress is clear in the numbers — non-oil GDP grew by five per cent in 2024, reaching Dh1,342 billion, while oil-related activities added Dh434 billion. By the end of last year, non-oil sectors made up 75.5 per cent of the country’s GDP, showing strong results in economic diversification.
Somshankar Bandyopadhyay is a News Editor with more than three decades of experience. Currently, he manages the news production of the business section, ensuring that the top economic and business news of the day reaches its readers.