WAM Abu Dhabi, May 22nd, 2012 (WAM)--In line with the spirit of cooperation, joint action, and enhancing the relations between the countries of the Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf; UAE Ministry of Finance (MoF) hosted a delegation from the Ministry of Finance of Oman at its headquarters in Abu Dhabi on Monday, May 21, 2012.

This visit reflects spirit of cooperation and joint in the area of financial management and preparation of government budgets.

During the two-day visit, the delegation examined the methods and programmes adopted by MoF in the preparation of the government budget associated with the programmes and performance. It also discussed the Ministry's experience in using the principles of zero-based budgeting in the preparation of the UAE budget and its impact in supporting the government spending plan.

Commenting on the visit, Younis Hajji Al Khouri, Undersecretary of MoF, welcomed the Omani delegation and instructed all departments of the Ministry to provide the delegation with all the information and facilities.

He added that "MoF believes in the importance of exchanging knowledge and experience in the management of financial resources with Arab nations and specifically Omanis, which in turn ensures the achievement of sustainable and balanced development in the region." Al Khouri added: "MoF has a tremendous amount of experiences in the development of a financial system, which has provided a real opportunity for the UAE to shift from the traditional budgets methods that are based on highlighting the expenditure; to possessing the programme and performance budget, which are based on the implemented programmes' cost that are associated with the strategic objectives to be achieved." The MoF presented the mechanisms of preparing and implementing the medium-term budget plan cycle for the years 2011 - 2013, and that is currently applied in the UAE. In addition, the MoF illustrated to the guests the methods of preparing the budget of strategic objectives; including the applied programmes to achieve during their adoption period, the mechanisms adopted to estimate the revenue and forecasts, as well as providing a brief about the electronic systems applied during their implementation.

It also displayed a set of presentations on the measures adopted in the preparation of the budget of the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Education. The meeting between both sides included a review of the e-Dirham system and the Internal Audit Charter adopted by the Ministry.

It should be noted that MoF has recently hosted a bilateral meeting to discuss the trade obstacles between the customs of the UAE and Oman.

WAM/MN