Hazza bin Zayed Attends the Business Continuity first forum
Organized by the “Secretariat of the Abu Dhabi Executive Council”
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H.H. is briefed about the plans and developments of implementing the business continuity
program for a number of government entities
Announcement to establish a “Risk Management and Business Sustainability” award as part
of the categories for the Abu Dhabi Award for Excellence in Government Performance
Abu Dhabi, 21 October 2014: His Highness Sheikh Hazza bin Zayed Al Nahyan, National Security
Advisor and Vice Chairman of the Abu Dhabi Executive Council, attended the “Business Continuity first
forum” organized by the Abu Dhabi General Secretariat of the Executive Council on Tuesday at the
Fairmont Bab Al Bahr hotel.
The forum was attended by 81 leaders of entities affiliated with the Abu Dhabi Government, notably His
Highness Sheikh Sultan bin Tahnoon Al Nahyan, Chairman of Transport Department, member of the
Executive Council; His Excellency Dr. Ahmed Mubarak Al Mazrouei, Secretary General of the Executive
Council, Chairman of the Executive Committee; His Excellency Hamad Mohammed Al Hurr Al Suwaidi,
Chairman of the Department of Finance, member of the Executive Council; His Excellency Saeed Eid Al
Ghafli, Chairman of Department of Municipal Affairs, member of the Executive Council; Her Excellency
Dr. Amal Abdullah Al Qubaisi, Director General of the Abu Dhabi Education Council, member of the
Executive Council; His Excellency Major General Mohammed Khalfan Al Rumaithi, Deputy
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Tel: +9712 66 88 888- P.O. Box 19 - Abu Dhabi - United Arab Emirates
www.ecouncil.ae
Commander-in-Chief of Abu Dhabi Police, member of the Executive Council; His Excellency Abdullah
Nasser Al Suwaidi, Director General of the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company; His Excellency Riyadh
Abdulrahman Al Mubarak, Chairman of the Abu Dhabi Accountability Authority; His Highness Sheikh
Mohammed bin Hamdan bin Zayed Al Nahyan; His Excellency Khaled bin Shaiban Al Muhairi, Director
General of the General Secretariat of the Executive Council.
The forum seeks to present plans and developments in regards to implementing the business continuity
program at government entities, in addition to discussing future measures to further implement the
program. It aims at continuously seeking to reinforce business continuity as an institutional culture and at
making it an essential component of various work environments within the Abu Dhabi Government, in
addition to enhancing the capabilities and skills of employees at such entities, enabling them to apply best
industry practices in the fields of service and administration.
His Excellency Major General Mohammed Khalfan Al Rumaithi confirmed in his opening speech at the
forum the need to promote awareness of the business continuity program within government entities. He
also stressed the importance of implementing the program’s outputs through adopted mechanisms and
according to the established plans, as well using all supporting tools available to reach best results in the
business.
“The successive events and changes we see in the world push us to increase our institutional preparedness
for various scenarios and circumstances. We must be ready to preserve the development achievements
established by the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan – May his soul rest in peace - and
consolidated by His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayeh Al Nahyan, President of the United Arab
Emirates. Therefore, it has been of great importance to develop programs that support and reinforce
development plans as well as coordinate roles between various entities, thereby allowing us to build
institutional authorities able to fulfill their commitments and provide their vital services to the community
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Tel: +9712 66 88 888- P.O. Box 19 - Abu Dhabi - United Arab Emirates
www.ecouncil.ae
in times of emergencies, crises and, Allah forbid, disasters,” His Excellency Major General Mohammed
Khalfan Al Rumaithi confirmed.
His Excellency commended the guidelines of His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan,
Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, Deputy Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, to exhort all efforts to
support and develop work efficiency within the Abu Dhabi Government. Such guidelines call on
establishing foundations and programs capable of continuously improving the work outputs of various
sectors, including outputs related to business continuity.
He added that the importance of the program consisted in the fact that it was a practical application for the
preservation of achieved outputs at the Emirate and that it included a comprehensive notion on the
outlook of the coming stages of growth and development in various sectors.
His Excellency then reiterated that the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Hazza bin Zayed Al Nahyan,
National Security Advisor and Vice Chairman of the Abu Dhabi Executive Council, of the forum
reflected the determination of the leadership to bring the program to a success and to reach the outputs
capable of promoting complementarity between government entities under various circumstances. He also
stressed the importance of moving forward in the business continuity program.
At the end of his opening speech, His Excellency Mohammed Khalfan Al Rumaithi announced the
establishment of the Risk Management and Business continuity award as part of the categories for the
Abu Dhabi Award for Excellence in Government Performance. The award aims at implementing best
industry practices, and enabling entities to evaluate, manage and control risks while maintaining the
provision of their services and performing vital tasks during emergencies.
‫ – أبوظبي – دولة االمارات العربية المتحدة‬72 ‫ صندوق بريد‬+2179 66 88 888 :‫هاتف‬
Tel: +9712 66 88 888- P.O. Box 19 - Abu Dhabi - United Arab Emirates
www.ecouncil.ae
This gesture reflects the importance of government entities implementing risk management and confirms
the continuous effort to achieve the desired goals in order to reinforce business continuity as an
institutional culture, making it an essential component of various work environments within the Abu
Dhabi Government, in addition to developing the capabilities and skills of employees to apply the best
practices in the fields of service and administration.
His Highness Sheikh Hazza bin Zayed Al Nahyan and his fellow participants watched a film describing
developments, prominent achievements and ongoing key projects taking place in Abu Dhabi.
The screening was followed by presentations from several government entities exposing their plans to
implement the business continuity program. These presentations included key objectives set to face risks
expected during emergencies as well as the responsibilities undertaken by the entities in guaranteeing the
continuous availability of services under all circumstances as to guarantee a constant flow of vital
services during such conditions.
Representatives of the Abu Dhabi Food Control Authority, the Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation, the
Abu Dhabi Health Services company, Abu Dhabi Airports Company and Etihad Airways discussed their
programs and implementation mechanisms for the business continuity program. These included work
steps and timeframes for the execution of required stages in addition to coordination with partners, work
mechanisms for business continuity teams and their tasks, their challenges, and the most important
recommendations to overcome obtsacles.
The participating entities voiced their commitment to the timeframe set for executing the program as to
guarantee the implementation of best practices in this vital field. They also stressed the importance of
training and enabling national cadres working at these entities on this subject. in addition to providing
them with the necessary support to play a prominent role in reinforcing the development the capital is
‫ – أبوظبي – دولة االمارات العربية المتحدة‬72 ‫ صندوق بريد‬+2179 66 88 888 :‫هاتف‬
Tel: +9712 66 88 888- P.O. Box 19 - Abu Dhabi - United Arab Emirates
www.ecouncil.ae
witnessing at various levels. They also encouraged the education and training of institution employees
regarding the implementation of the program’s outputs.
His Excellency Khaled bin Shaiban Al Muhairi, Director of the Business continuity Directorate at the
General Secretariat of the Executive Council gave a closing speech in which he thanked His Highness
Sheikh Hazza bin Zayed for his patronage and attendance. He also confirmed that he would be
contributing to the establishment of a comprehensive notion of the future of risk management in Abu
Dhabi, to increasing awareness about the managing business continuity, and to drawing a clearer picture
of the next phase of development that Abu Dhabi will witness in its various sectors, thanks to the policy
of economic diversification adopted by the government as a key axis in achieving the Emirate’s vision.
He added that the determination set forth by government entities in implementing the business continuity
program has led to overcoming many obstacles through joint efforts and a continuous aim to achieve
complementarity in government performance. He explained that this would lead to large scale
opportunities in developing the program and fulfilling its objects.
In order to achieve this for example, the General Secretariat of the Executive Council has established a
number of supporting foundations to support spreading a culture of business continuity at government
entities. Such foundations include educating employees and training them on implementing the program’s
outputs in their daily tasks. Employees may achieve this by following and applying as best as possible the
set standards and the guideline (AE /HSC/ NCEMA 7000:2012) adopted by the National Emergency
Crisis and Disasters Management Authority.
Business continuity at establishments and vital facilities is considered as one of the most significant
strategies the Abu Dhabi Government is working on planning for, in addition to working on preparing
employees by taking the appropriate measures and working according to a specific mechanism in order to
‫ – أبوظبي – دولة االمارات العربية المتحدة‬72 ‫ صندوق بريد‬+2179 66 88 888 :‫هاتف‬
Tel: +9712 66 88 888- P.O. Box 19 - Abu Dhabi - United Arab Emirates
www.ecouncil.ae
alleviate the effects of any emergency, crisis or disaster that may affect the course of business at these
establishments.
- the end -
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A Press Release By the Office of Government Communication / GSEC
‫ – أبوظبي – دولة االمارات العربية المتحدة‬72 ‫ صندوق بريد‬+2179 66 88 888 :‫هاتف‬
Tel: +9712 66 88 888- P.O. Box 19 - Abu Dhabi - United Arab Emirates
www.ecouncil.ae