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''Empowering the Emirati youth is at the heart of initiatives and strategies adopted by the UAE Government under the leadership of President His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan on its journey to the future,'' His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, said after approving 33 young Emiratis as members on the boards of key federal entities at a Cabinet meeting today.

The move followed the approval of the mandatory Cabinet Resolution for engaging youth to become members of boards of federal government companies. The resolution called for the participation of at least one young Emirati who is not over 30 years of age on the boards. An e-portal was also launched for the registration and application to these boards. His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid affirmed that investing and qualifying young Emiratis to engage in national work is a well-established approach since the UAE was founded by the late founding father, Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan.

''We congratulate our sons and daughters who join these boards in the UAE Government, we fully support them and their responsibility starts from today,'' His Highness Sheikh Mohammed said, adding, "The youth are the backbone of the present and makers of the future and the lifelong wealth which should be developed to ensure the competitiveness of the UAE.

We have confidence in the abilities of our youth to develop services and present constructive ideas for the progress of the nation.'' ''Today, we have adopted a policy to engage them in official Federal Government missions ... they are our ambassadors and the engine in our government work,'' he said.

He instructed the Federal Government to create the appropriate environment for the youth to innovate and excel and unleash their potential and harness their energies and abilities to modernise government work. The young board members, who will serve a term of between two and three years are expected to provide creative solutions over a set of national issues so as to better serve the nation and its people.

The Cabinet also approved a policy for the participation of employees under 35 years in delegations of official government missions abroad. During today's meeting, the Cabinet approved the creation of a national council for quality of life, a national council for quality of digital life, and a national committee for folklore. In the regulatory context, the Cabinet formed the "2020: Towards the next 50" committee under the chairmanship of H.H. Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Presidential Affairs.

The committee is tasked with conceptualising comprehensive development, including the strategic directions of the first phase of the UAE Centennial Plan 2071, which will make the UAE Government the fastest, most flexible and responsive to future transformations.

A committee to prepare for the UAE Golden Jubilee celebrations was also formed under the chairmanship of H.H. Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation. The committee's mandate includes the preparation of a national plan for the celebrations at the federal and local levels.