UAE budget committee reviews 2027 draft, cuts prep steps to 10

Summary

• The federal budget committee reviewed the draft 2027 budget within a 2027-2029 medium-term plan.
• No headline figure was announced; the cycle remains at the draft and planning stage.
• AI-driven overhaul cut budget preparation from 50 steps to 10, WAM reported.

The latest

The draft 2027 federal budget has moved into committee review as part of a three-year plan running through 2029, with preliminary spending and revenue estimates examined but no total figure released, state news agency WAM reported. The Federal Public Budget Committee, chaired by Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, met for its fifteenth session at Qasr Al Watan.

Details

• The meeting: The committee's fifteenth session was held at Qasr Al Watan under Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Vice President, Deputy Prime Minister and Chairman of the Presidential Court, with Sheikh Maktoum bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, First Deputy Ruler of Dubai, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, in attendance, according to WAM.
• Who else attended: Also present were Mohammed bin Abdullah Al Gergawi, Minister of Cabinet Affairs, Mohamed bin Hadi Al Hussaini, Minister of State for Financial Affairs, and Khaled Mohamed Balama Al Tameemi, Governor of the Central Bank of the UAE, WAM said.
• What was reviewed: The committee examined the draft federal budget for fiscal 2027 within the 2027-2029 medium-term framework and discussed preliminary expenditure and revenue estimates. No aggregate figure was announced, with the process still at the draft and planning stage.
• The instruction: The committee directed that preparation procedures for the 2027-2029 federal budget be completed through coordination between the Ministry of Finance and federal entities, under Federal Decree-Law No. 26 of 2019 on public finance and its amendments.
• The AI overhaul: The 2027-2029 planning cycle centers on using artificial intelligence to improve planning, analyze fiscal data, simplify procedures and raise financial efficiency, according to WAM. The update reduced budget preparation from 50 steps to 10.
• Procurement speed: Under the same overhaul, procurement cycles were compressed from 60 days to under 6 minutes, WAM reported — a shift the committee tied to broader efficiency gains rather than to any announced change in spending levels.
• The 2026 position: The committee also reviewed the federal fiscal position for 2026 based on actual revenues and expenditures recorded so far. It did not disclose year-to-date totals, saying indicators reflect continued economic activity despite regional and global developments.
• The benchmark: The approved 2026 federal budget stands at AED 92.4 billion ($25.15 billion), fully balanced between spending and revenue and the largest in the union's history, up 29% from the AED 71.5 billion 2025 budget.
• Where 2026 money goes: Social development and pensions take AED 34.6 billion (37%), government affairs AED 27.1 billion (29%), financial investments AED 15.4 billion (17%), federal expenditures AED 12.7 billion (14%), and infrastructure and economic development AED 2.6 billion (3%). These figures apply to 2026 only.

Background

The UAE budgets on rolling multi-year cycles under the 2019 public finance decree-law, which assigns the Ministry of Finance the task of assembling federal entity submissions before cabinet and presidential approval. The 2026 plan set the current spending ceiling.

Between the lines

The absence of a 2027 headline number is a function of timing, not reticence: the committee described the cycle as still in drafting. The efficiency claims — 50 steps to 10, 60 days to 6 minutes — are process metrics, and the committee did not link them to any projected change in the size of the budget itself.

What's next

Watch for the Ministry of Finance to complete preparation with federal entities, and for the first announced 2027 spending and revenue totals, which the committee has not yet dated.

Source: Emirates News Agency (WAM), via Economy Middle East