MoF organises workshop on best practices in budget transparency

The Ministry of Finance (MoF), in collaboration with the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), organised a workshop on fiscal transparency in the preparation of the General Budget. The workshop came in line with the Ministry’s commitment to create an ideally transparent environment for planning and managing financial resources. The two-day long workshop, attended by local and federal government entities in the UAE, was held at the Intercontinental Dubai Festival City Hotel during March 28^th – 29^th, 2017.

HE Younis Haji Al Khoori, Undersecretary of MoF, emphasised the Ministry’s consistent efforts to create an ideal financial environment, based on transparency in all aspects of its work. HE said: “The Ministry of Finance works in collaboration with its strategic partners— on a local, regional and international level—to develop its financial infrastructure and establish national plans aimed at enhancing fiscal transparency. These efforts are also implemented in order to boost the UAE’s position and competitiveness in adopting the highest standards of transparency in the preparation of the General Budget. This will be achievable by taking citizens’ opinions regarding the General Budget into consideration, which in return, will reflect the strength of the legislation and financial systems adopted in the United Arab Emirates." 

The first day of the workshop kicked off with a session titled “Budget and Fiscal Transparency: The International Landscape” which discussed the international standards and official directives on budget and fiscal transparency as a main pillar of government financial work. The next session, “Government Budget Reporting”, deliberated on the agreed standards for government budget reporting in the wake of the recent financial crises, based on the Norwegian and French experiences in this area. Another session titled, “Scrutiny and Oversight”, presented the framework for independent scrutiny and oversight in France, means of communication with the public, as well as internationally-agreed standards for strengthening scrutiny and oversight on public finances. The first day concluded with a presentation on current practices and possible areas for improvement in the UAE.

The second day of workshop activities included a session titled “Openness and Civic Engagement”. This session presented the Norwegian experience in budget transparency relating to revenue from natural resources, the open managerial practices of Norwegian Petroleum Wealth as well as internationally-agreed standards and successful implementation examples from around the world. The session “Promoting integrity vis-à-vis the private sector”, discussed the framework supporting transparent public procurement in Iceland, international best practice and successful implementation examples from around the world.

The workshop’s concluding session titled, “Budget Transparency: Next Steps” discussed how budget transparency is embedded throughout each stage of the budget process, taking individual national circumstances into account. The second day concluded with a summary of current practices in the UAE with recommendations for further improvement.

Organised by MoF in partnership with OECD, several local and federal government entities participated in the workshop.