ABU DHABI — UAE Minister of Economy Abdulla Bin Touq Al Marri emphasized the importance of developing the legislative structure to better organize the operations of family businesses in the country and ensure their continuity over successive generations. He noted that this should be achieved by considering the nature of these businesses and the rights of family ownership and in accordance with the established international best practices. The minister said that family businesses are a major focus area in the country’s efforts to build a more flexible and sustainable economic model, and that a clear plan has been developed to stimulate the leadership of these companies and enhance their competitiveness. He further said that the MoE is keen to raise the level of coordination with all its partners from federal and local government entities and the private sector to develop a number of specific initiatives that would enhance the readiness of priority sectors and economic activities, most notably family businesses, to keep pace with the nation’s transformation over the next 50 years. He added that the work teams formed by the Ministry and Family Business Council Gulf (FBC-Gulf) have put in place a number of tracks to move forward in this regard, and formulate the necessary economic policies to provide a supportive and encouraging environment to enhance the contribution of family businesses and their significant roles in the diversification and growth of the national economy. The minister made these remarks during his second meeting with the representatives of FBC-Gulf, which was held to review the progress of work achieved by the teams and joint work committees. The meeting was also attended by Dr. Thani Bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi, minister of state for foreign trade; Abdulaziz Abdalla Al Ghurair, chairman of the board of directors member and honorary chairman of the Family Business Council-Gulf; Abdullah Bin Ahmed Al Saleh, undersecretary of the ministry of economy; and Omar Al-Futtaim, vice chairman of the board, and a number of experts and advisors from both sides. Furthermore, the two sides underlined the importance of the existing cooperation between MoE and the FBC-Gulf and the important initiatives presented by the joint work teams that support the operations of this sector and provide it with the necessary legislative and organizational support. The joint work team reviewed the steps that have been implemented so far, as a result of the meetings of three main working groups, which are the strategy team, the research and development team, the legislation and best practices team. The outcomes of these meetings included agreement to start work in the next phase according to fixed time frames and clear specifics and implementation mechanisms that focus on three main tracks. These are the development of policies that support the growth of family businesses, enhancing data collection regarding family companies, and raising awareness on the importance of family business governance. During the meeting, the two sides also agreed to form a technical committee headed by the Ministry and with the participation of FBC-Gulf and general advisors of the most important family companies, in order to follow up on the implementation of the plans and initiatives agreed upon according to the specified schedule. — SG