4 February 2026
The OECD and the Government of the United Arab Emirates today signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to strengthen co-operation across several policy areas, advancing the UAE’s alignment with relevant OECD standards and best practices.
The MoU was signed during the World Government Summit 2026 in Dubai by OECD Secretary-General Mathias Cormann and the United Arab Emirates’ Minister of Cabinet Affairs, H.E. Mohammed Al Gergawi.
The agreement renews and builds on the MoU between the OECD and the UAE signed in 2020. It expands co-operation to a whole-of-government framework and marks a significant step forward in the bilateral relationship. Key areas of co-operation will include public governance, environmental policy, tourism, and innovation.
The OECD and the United Arab Emirates have collaborated across multiple policy fields since 2005 under the MENA-OECD Initiative on Governance and Competitiveness for Development. This partnership has also included the UAE-OECD Policy Alignment project, which benchmarked UAE policies on SMEs and entrepreneurship, corporate governance, investment, and competition during its first phase (2022–2023). The project is now entering a second phase (2025-2026) which includes an OECD Review of UAE Tourism Policy.
The United Arab Emirates currently participates in nine OECD bodies and adheres to four OECD legal instruments. At the regional level, the United Arab Emirates is an active partner of the MENA-OECD Initiative and plays a leading role as Champion of the MENA-OECD Business Advisory Board.
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