Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid launches Ministry of Possibilities

Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, announced the formation of a new government branch on Tuesday, the Ministry of Possibilities.

Describing the newly established authority as 'unconventional', Sheikh Mohammed said the ministry will not be overseen by a specific minister but instead by a committee of Cabinet members.

The ministry will be tasked with tackling issues of particular national importance, efficiently and quickly.

"We’ve launched a new government branch today. The Ministry of Possibilities. An unconventional ministry. A ministry with no minister. Its crew are the council of ministers, and it works on important national issues," he announced on Twitter.

"The Ministry of Possibilities will start working on many projects, which include services to the people, and electronic platforms that will ease government spending and reduce waiting times from 60 days to 6 minutes. We will start a platform to discover young talent from all around the country," he posted.

He also said the "future holds many challenges" that require new ways of approaching government, and that, in the UAE, "impossible is not in our vocabulary".

Sheikh Mohammed said the UAE was a country borne out of unorthodox ideas - with ambitions for the future that are far from traditional.

"Our current reality in the UAE is the product of unconventional ideas for non-traditional leaders," Sheikh Mohammed said.

"Our ambitions for the future are not traditional, and we need unconventional systems to make them a reality."

Mohammed Al Gergawi, Minister of Cabinet Affairs and the Future, said the new ministry would be in line with the UAE's belief that "nothing is impossible".

"Sheikh Mohammed has always stressed that there is nothing that can stand in front of the aspirations of our youthful nation, and that the impossible word is not in the Emirates dictionary," said Mr Al Gergawi.

Saif Alsalman, executive director of SAP, a private firm assisting the UAE government in online strategy, said: “The UAE’s Ministry of Possibilities is a masterstroke in bringing together the best Emirati leaders to drive nationwide digital transformation.

"The Ministry’s focus on design thinking can also help to identify how future technologies can transform government services.”