Media Center

H.H. Lt. General Sheikh Saif bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the Interior, stressed the need for mobilising stakeholder efforts to deliver the UAE government vision to become a world leader in areas of customer happiness, preservation of human lives and protection of public safety and properties.

Sheikh Saif made these remarks while chairing the first meeting of the Happiness and Positivity Council on Tuesday.

The Ministry of Interior is employing advanced technology and qualified human resources to raise levels of readiness and response to address any potential risks and challenges as per a doctrine of integrity, and multi-agency co-ordination and co-operation as one team.

The meeting discussed directives by Vice President and Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum for adopting happiness and positivity as a lifestyle and a government commitment to bring happiness to citizens, expatriate residents and visitors and establish the UAE as a global destination for happiness and safety.

Also discussed, were a set of strategic initiatives and indicators to improve police performance so as to provide world-class services within an integrated environment of happiness and positivity for both employees and customers.

Lt. General Khamis Matar Al-Muzainah, Commander-in-Chief of Dubai Police, presented a report on the ministry's efforts to enhance public safety.

Major-General Jassim Al Marzouqi, Commander of the Civil Defence, briefed the meeting about the strategic development plan for the next five years (2017 - 2021) which he said aims to reduce incidents of fire by 10 percent per 10000 inhabitants and fatalities in such incidents by 15 percent per 10000 inhabitants.

The Ministry of Interior's plan for 2030, key performance indicators for customer services centres for 2015 and 2016, and the higher policy for science, technology and innovation were also discussed.

In the first half of 2016, the country managed to reduce accidents and deaths in fires by 24 percent and 77 percent, respectively, as compared to 2015, Al Marzouqi said.

The UAE had outperformed a number of advanced nations including France, the United Kingdom, Japan, Sweden and the United States in rates of fires, deaths and injuries due to fires, the International Association of Fire and Rescue Services (CTIF) said.

According to the 2010 -2014 report by the Paris-based CTIF, the UAE reported 2.19 and 0.23 for fire and fire death respectively per 10000 inhabitants. This report includes statistics on numbers and rates of fires, deaths and injuries due to fires, and on-duty firefighter deaths and injuries whether sustained in fires or not.