UAE's AI and Development Council Reviews Digital Programmes and Proposed Tax Rules

The session was held as part of the UAE Government Annual Meetings 2026, according to the state news agency WAM. Alongside AI, ministers went over national files on Emiratisation, the labour market, energy, investment, the environment and biodiversity, and national data and statistics.

The agenda also included proposed policies and regulations on the quality of higher education institutions, on pharmaceuticals and medical products, and on the tax system. The council discussed proposals to make the government workforce more efficient and to strengthen the federal government's public finances. WAM's account did not say what was decided on any of these proposals or give timelines.

Sheikh Mansour stressed the need for federal and local authorities to work together in launching and implementing legislation and government projects, with the aim of making government more efficient across sectors and improving services for citizens, residents and businesses, WAM reported.

The meeting matters because of what the council is meant to do. Until April it was the Ministerial Development Council. On April 28, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, approved renaming it to put AI at the centre of its work, according to the Dubai Media Office. Its mandate covers monitoring federal performance, reviewing policies, laws and strategies submitted by federal entities before they reach the Cabinet, and overseeing plans to expand AI use in government services, processes and public spending.

The renaming came with a target to shift 50% of government work sectors, services and operations to agentic AI systems within two years, the Dubai Media Office said at the time. That puts the deadline around April 2028.

Monday's statement did not report how far federal entities have moved toward that 50% goal, or which services have been converted so far.