UAE - The New UAE Govt. & Its Priorities.

Business and the economy have always been Shaikh Muhammad bin Rashed's priorities. However, he has matured into a statesman, increasingly speaking on the need for free speech, democracy and peace in the Middle East. His new role as UAE vice president and prime minister will test the skills he has acquired at a time when the federation is entering the most defining phase in its short history. In forming a new federal cabinet, Shaikh Muhammad has been careful in keeping both UAE President and Abu Dhabi ruler Shaikh Khalifa bin Zayed al-Nahyan happy while, at the same time, not to antagonise Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Shaikh Muhammad bin Zayed.

Before the new UAE cabinet was announced on Feb. 9, Muhammad bin Zayed - who also has retained his old post as UAE chief of staff and deputy supreme commander of the UAE armed forces - immediately turned down a list of Abu Dhabian ministers which Muhammad bin Rashed had first proposed. That was because the new ruler of Dubai had changed some of the Abu Dhabians in key UAE positions which was been reserved previously for the full-brothers of Muhammad bin Zayed. Muhammad bin Rashed acted swiftly by reverting to the previous list of Abu Dhabians and by having a meeting with Muhammad bin Zayed.

At that point, the latter informed the new prime minister that his full-brother Hamdan bin Zayed was too busy retaining the post of minister of state for foreign affairs as well as that of deputy PM and chairman of Dolphin Energy Ltd. (DEL) - among several other positions he has been assuming in Abu Dhabi. Muhammad bin Rashed acted accordingly, appointing a nominee of Muhammad bin Zayed - Muhammad Hussein al-Sha'li - for the post of state minister for foreign affairs - and his full-brother Shaikh Abdullah bin Zayed as a full foreign minister. In the back-ground, Shaikh Khalifa bin Zayed had phoned Muhammad bin Rashed advising him to fulfill Muhammad bin Zayed's wishes concerning Abu Dhabian contributions to the federal cabinet. As a result, 10 Abu Dhabians now hold the most powerful portfolios in the new UAE cabinet next to that of the PM. The following is its full list, by order of importance relative to the UAE:

The Cabinet:
PM & Defence Minister: Shaikh Muhammad bin Rashed al-Maktoum.
DPM: Shaikh Sultan bin Zayed al-Nahyan.
DPM: Shaikh Hamdan bin Zayed al-Nahyan.
Finance & Industry: Shaikh Hamdan bin Rashed al-Maktoum for Dubai ruler.
Interior: Gen. Shaikh Saif bin Zayed al-Nahyan.
Foreign Affairs: Shaikh Abdullah bin Zayed al-Nahyan.
Presidential Affairs: Shaikh Mansour bin Zayed al-Nahyan.
Higher Education & Scientific Research: Shaikh Nahyan bin Mubarak al-Nahyan.
Public Works: Shaikh Hamdan bin Mubarak al-Nahyan.
Energy: Muhammad bin Dha'en al-Hamili - of Abu Dhabi.
Justice: Muhammad bin Nakhira al-Dhaheri - of Abu Dhabi.
State for Foreign Affairs - Muhammad Hussein al-Sha'li - of Abu Dhabi.
Economy & Planning: Shaikha Lubna bint Khaled al-Qasimi - female for Dubai.
Education: Hanif Hassan Ali.
Cabinet Affairs: Muhammad Abdullah al-Gergawi - for Dubai ruler.
Social Affairs: Mariam Muhammad Khalfan al-Roumi - 2nd female for Dubai ruler.
Federal National Council (FDC) Affairs: Anwar Muhammad Gargash - Dubai.
Health: Humaid Muhammad Obaid al-Qatami.
State for Financial/Industrial Affairs: Muhammad Khalfan bin Kharbash - Dubai.
Environment & Water: Muhammad Sa'id al-Kindi.
Labour: Ali bin Abdullah al-Ka'bi.
Governmental Sector Development: Sultan bin Sa'id al-Mansour.
Culture, Youth and Community Development: Abdel-Rahman Muhammad al-Owais.

The top priorities are: economic diversification, political reform and growing federal unity. The vision runs parallel with Shaikh Muhammad bin Rashed's vision to develop economically before embarking on political reform. Social reform and economic liberalisation will go hand in hand with the process of political reforms.

On Dec. 1, Shaikh Khalifa bin Zayed announced that half the seats on the 40-member Federal National Council (FNC) would be elected for the first time. The FNC symbolically followed by the country's first experiment with democracy when the Abu Dhabi Chamber of Commerce & Industry elected 15 out of 21 seats on the chamber board on Dec. 5 (see fap1-UAE-4-DubaiDemoJan16-06).

Details of the FNC election process are yet to be released. One of the prime minister's main functions will be to ensure a timeframe for the elections is put in place. The appointment of a minister for the FNC shows there is a keen interest in supervising political reform for the future. The process will be gradual. Each ruler of the seven emirates will nominate an assembly to select half its quota of FNC members, in the first step of the phased programme to direct legislative elections. There are no elections in the offing. The process will be slow. It will probably begin with a temporary election and then an elected consultative council, to discuss a fully elected FNC in the final phase.

Shaikh Muhammad's federal responsibilities will put greater demands on his time. But he has delegated power already, having made the ministers truly responsible for their portfolios. At the close of the new cabinet's first meeting on Feb. 20, he announced to the public that he had given the ministers "full administrative and financial independence to improve their performance. He said: "Federal ministers will be empowered with wide ranging authority; centralism and complicated restrictions and procedures will be scrapped to give them free hand in discharging their duties. I don't want ministers to come to us only with problems but also with effective solutions". He announced creation of a special unit under his direct supervision to chalk out time-frame plans to assess public performance. He said: "We want a modern, effective government and administration to be guided by transparency and spirit of harmonious one-team to raise productivity - we want a highly competent, dynamic government to run various state utilities properly".

Until his elder brother and Dubai ruler died suddenly on Jan. 4, Shaikh Muhammad only had Dubai to concentrate on. But he was also very busy with his favourite pastime - horses; that now has been put on the backburner. Shaikh Muhammad is yet to appoint a crown prince for Dubai. Historically, the appointment has not been made immediately and, should there be any problems, the family would be there to step in. Dubai already has a deputy ruler in Shaikh Hamdan bin Rashid.

Shaikh Muhammad's two eldest sons are still in their early twenties and until now have had little involvement in government. In keeping with Shaikh Muhammad's tradition, the job will go to the most qualified person. The year ahead will reveal how well Shaikh Muhammad deals with his new responsibilities as UAE vice president and prime minister - the President, Shaikh Khalifa bin Zayed, being media and politically shy.

Politically, Abu Dhabi and Dubai are growing closer as the younger generation comes to the fore. Shaikh Muhammad has a reputation for being directly involved in implementing and overseeing his orders. He likes to run things his own way, which suits the UAE's current President Shaikh Khalifa, who keeps a low-profile. Shaikh Khalifa has already left Abu Dhabi politics to his half-brothers from Shaikha Fatima. When US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice was recently in Abu Dhabi, Shaikh Khalifa was abroad. If he were a political man, he would have been in the UAE capital.

At the same time, Shaikh Muhammad enjoys a close relationship with the Abu Dhabi crown prince. Consultations between the two before the new cabinet announcement were extensive. The speed in which the cabinet was selected underlined their relationship. However, Muhammad bin Zayed is ambitious and wants to make sure he has a say in federal affairs. So the two Muhammads will have to keep been careful and ensure that their co-operation continues.