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UAE Adds AI Categories to Government Excellence Award, Honouring Tax Authority's AI Chief

Four new categories this year judged federal bodies on AI applications and future readiness, with medals for the officials who lead that work.

By Nakoda News Desk

·2 min read

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Winners of the 2026 Mohammed bin Rashid Government Excellence Award were honoured on November 5.
Winners of the 2026 Mohammed bin Rashid Government Excellence Award were honoured on November 5.Photo: khaleejtimes-english

The UAE's top federal government award judged entities on their use of artificial intelligence for the first time this year. A medal for Best Chief AI Officer went to Abdullah Ghuloom Al Bastaki of the Federal Tax Authority at the Mohammed bin Rashid Government Excellence Award on Thursday, November 5, according to Khaleej Times.

The award is held every two years and run by the Sheikh Khalifa Government Excellence Programme. Its 2026 edition introduced four categories: AI applications, proactivity and future readiness, chief AI officers, and chief future-readiness officers. The Federal Authority for Government Human Resources won the AI applications category, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs was recognised for proactivity and future readiness.

The new categories bring AI into the benchmark the federal government uses to rank its own ministries and agencies. The UAE government appointed chief AI officers across its ministries in 2024. Adding a medal for the role means those officers are now assessed in the same process that ranks entities and their leaders on performance.

The assessment covered 30 federal entities. A total of 57 leaders and 236 government employees were nominated for Prime Minister's Medals, and more than 130 Emirati and international experts and assessors took part, Khaleej Times reported.

Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, presented the Mohammed bin Rashid Sash to Sheikh Surour bin Mohammed Al Nahyan for his service to the country.

The ministries of Interior, Finance and Foreign Affairs were named leading federal entities in sustained excellence. The Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation won the award for ministries with more than 500 employees, and the Ministry of Economy and Tourism won for ministries with fewer than 500. The Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Community Empowerment shared the award for most improved ministry.

In education, Iman Mohammed Al Khouri received the Prime Minister's Medal for Best Teacher. Maimouna Hashem Al Muaini, principal of Zayed Educational Complex in Dubai, won the medal for Best School Principal.

Two programmes received special recognition: Hayat, the Ministry of Health and Prevention's organ and tissue donation and transplantation programme, and Make it in the Emirates, led by the Ministry of Industry and Advanced Technology.

The award runs every two years, so the next edition, and the second round of AI assessments, is due in 2028.

Sources

  • khaleejtimes-english · UAE’s best teacher, school principal honoured at government excellence awards
  • Gulf Today · UAE emerges as global hub for innovation, says Mohammed bin Rashid

Produced with AI assistance from the sources above. How we work

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