The United Arab Emirates approved a three-year budget worth $49bn, with 59 percent of it allocated to education and social development. The UAE cabinet approved a budget of $16.4bn (AED60.3bn) for 2019. It said 42.3 percent of the budget for the next year was allocated to community development programs, 17 percent to the education system and 7.3 percent to the health sector and medical services. Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Prime Minister and Vice-President of the United Arab Emirates and ruler of Dubai, said 59% of the three-year budget would be allocated to education and social development. “Citizens are our top priority. We have allocated the bulk of the budget to ensure its prosperity, health, education, and security," he said. The cabinet also adopted the Federal Law on Regulation of the National Space Sector to foster investment, research, and partnership. It was included in the budget to organize the federal development of the space sector and to encourage private sector investment in the field. The Cabinet ratified an agreement on cultural exchange between the UAE and France, and an air transport agreement between the UAE and Belize, the UAE and the Marshall Islands and air services between the UAE and the Caribbean country of Grenada. Additionally, it approved agreements to promote and protect UAE investments with Kazakhstan and Costa Rica, and agreed that the Emirates join the 1997 Protocol of the International Convention for the Prevention of Air Pollution caused by ships.