Sultan Bin Saeed Al Mansouri, the UAE Minister of Economy, has said the Ministry will be the federal authority responsible for developing the Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) sector in the United Arab Emirates following an official request from the Cabinet. He said the Ministry is working on a National Plan to drive economic development by enhancing the role of SMEs and in coordination with concerned government departments in the UAE. He was chairing yesterday the sixth meeting of the Coordination and Economic cooperation committee at his office in Dubai. The meeting discussed the government's outlook regarding SMEs and the Ministry"s mandate in this regard, according to a report of the UAE news agency "WAM". "The Ministry has studied and evaluated the status of SMEs in order to identify the challenges and opportunities in this vital sector. The Ministry also evaluated the experience of 28 countries in the fields of small and medium businesses. We are keen to coordinate efforts and exchange information with government departments in order to achieve best results and develop the performance of this vital sector". SMEs encourage innovation and creativity, attract national Labour force, benefit from local resources and attract foreign investments. The UAE has been ranked among the top five countries selected from 84 countries all over the world in terms of support to SMEs. The other countries in the top list are Britain, France, Singapore and Hong Kong, according to WAM.
