New York, Oct. 15th, 2007 (WAM) -- The UAE, yesterday at the UN, confirmed continuing to work towards achieving high levels of economic and social development.

This came during the statement by Mohamed Issa Abushahab, member of the UAE delegation at the General Debate of the Second Committee in the UN.

Abushahab said that the UAE reaffirmed the importance of development as one of the most important issues of its age and the only way to achieve security, stability and prosperity for all peoples. "While we commend the positive initiatives made by some developed states for providing direct development assistance and canceling debts of some poor countries, we renew our call to all stake holders in the development process to take necessary measures to speed the implementation of all the recommendations and resolutions adopted at international conferences and summits on development , especially the Monterrey Conference, the Johannesburg Summit, the South Summit of Doha held in year, and the outcome document of the High Level Meeting of the General Assembly in 2005 . We are looking forward to the high level meeting on finance for developing to be held at the end of this month as an effective step in that direction," He added.

He pointed out that the UAE's government launched last April the UAE government Strategy, which represent the first binding program of work for the government aiming to achieve balanced sustainable development and ensure a high quality life for all citizens. The UAE has adopted a development policy based on the following economic policies: First: The adoption of free opened economy system, diversification of the sources of income , expansion of the production base, avoiding depending on oil as a sole source of income and rational and efficient use of oil resources and building the basic infrastructure necessary for development in other economic sectors especially agriculture, industry, commerce and services sectors. The contribution of non-oil sectors reached 73 per cent of the gross national income.

Second: Focusing on human resources development as the key objective of all plans on economic and social development through the ensuring equal opportunities to education, health and social care for all categories of the society; including men, women, persons with special needs and handicapped persons, and providing equal opportunities for employment and training for all without any discrimination.

Third: Invigorating and supporting the role of the private sector in the economic development process, establishing the basic infra structure in the society and creating a favorable environment for domestic and foreign investments and promoting small businesses.

Fourth: The use of modern technology in information and communication to support and strengthen the process of development. The UAE made big strides in applying new technology in management, such as the application of electronic government concept which has saved a great deal of time and effort and increased production. Also facilitating acquiring ICT by the population has contributed in expanding the scope of information among wide group of the population.

Fifth: Conservation of environment through inclusion of the environmental dimensions in the national plans aiming at the diversification of the economy while ensuring the protection of the environment according to the 21st century agenda.

Sixth: Contributing to the international partnership for development through joining a number of bilateral, regional and international economic conventions as well as through extending financial and in-kind assistance to many developing countries as well as countries affected by conflicts and natural disasters. The contributions made by the UAE in this regard have reached exceeded 70 billion US dollars most of which were given as grants, that benefited 95 countries which was given in the form of grants. The UAE is considered one of the biggest job markets hosting foreign laborers who contribute in financing development in there native countries through remittances that are estimated to exceed 22 billion dollars annually.

"In conclusion, we hope that our deliberations will succeed in finding effective and viable solutions to the global economic problems through an international equitable economic and financial system which is capable of bringing prosperity for all peoples," Abushahab concluded.