Dubai, United Arab Emirates – 27 June 2026
The General Directorate of Identity and Foreigners Affairs – Dubai (GDRFA Dubai) has concluded the “Partners in Leadership 2.0” initiative following an institutional development journey that ran from 30 May 2025 to 11 June 2026. Throughout this period, the initiative successfully transformed the concept of government partnership from a platform for exchanging expertise into a practical model for creating institutional impact, reflecting Dubai’s vision of building a government where knowledge is integrated, capabilities are shared, and institutions operate through a unified approach toward a more future-ready and sustainable government.
Implemented under the supervision of the Dubai Government Excellence Program (DGEP), the initiative brought together five government entities: the Dubai Government Human Resources Department, the Community Development Authority, the Dubai Legal Affairs Department, the Dubai Sports Council, and the Awqaf and Minors Affairs Foundation. Its outcomes demonstrated a significant institutional impact, with more than 31 coordination meetings, over 29 specialised workshops, and 17 institutional assessment sessions totalling more than 46 evaluation hours. The initiative benefited 353 participants and achieved an impressive 97% overall happiness rate.
The initiative’s impact extended across all participating entities, each of which achieved a 100% completion rate for its institutional development plans. A total of 55 leading institutional practices were exchanged, including 19 practices from the Community Development Authority, 12 from the Dubai Government Human Resources Department, 10 from the Awqaf and Minors Affairs Foundation, 9 from the Dubai Sports Council, and 8 from the Dubai Legal Affairs Department. These practices covered key areas such as financial agility, governance, sustainability, supplier management, innovation, artificial intelligence, and impact measurement, expanding the exchange of institutional expertise, strengthening the adoption of best practices, and reinforcing GDRFA Dubai’s position as a strategic partner in advancing government performance and fostering a culture of institutional excellence.
The forum also witnessed the launch of the “Leadership Partners Portal,” an integrated digital platform designed to strengthen engagement with partners and efficiently address their needs and requirements. The platform contributes to faster response times, enhanced coordination and integration among entities, and the optimal utilization of resources, while supporting the sustainability of data- and innovation-driven government partnerships.
The initiative’s results were announced during the closing forum attended by His Excellency Lieutenant General Mohammed Ahmed Al Marri, Director General of GDRFA Dubai; Her Excellency Hessa bint Essa Buhumaid, Director General of the Community Development Authority; His Excellency Abdullah Ali bin Zayed Al Falasi, Director General of the Dubai Government Human Resources Department; His Excellency Dr. Louay Mohammed Belhoul, Director General of the Dubai Legal Affairs Department and Member of The Executive Council of Dubai. ; Major General Obaid Muhair bin Suroor, Deputy Director General of GDRFA Dubai; Dr. Mohammed Abdulwahab Al Ansari, Director of the Strategy Office at the Awqaf and Minors Affairs Foundation; and Mr. Ahmed Abdulkarim Al Fahim, Director of the Strategy and Institutional Excellence Office and Chairman of the Excellence Committee at the Dubai Sports Council, along with members of the Executive Council of the Government of Dubai, Assistant Director Generals, and a number of senior officials and leaders from the participating government entities.
His Excellency Lieutenant General Mohammed Ahmed Al Marri, Director General of GDRFA Dubai, affirmed that the true value of the “Partners in Leadership 2.0” initiative lies not merely in the scale of its achievements, but in its ability to transform those achievements into tangible institutional outcomes, where knowledge becomes initiatives, practices become measurable results, and collaboration evolves into an embedded culture of excellence. He noted that the initiative reflects Dubai’s approach to building a government that grows through partnership and leverages institutional expertise to generate broader and more sustainable impact, strengthening the competitiveness of Dubai Government and enhancing its readiness for the future.
For his part, Brigadier Abdulsamad Hussein Suleiman, Assistant Director General for the Pioneering and Future Sector at GDRFA Dubai, stated that “Partners in Leadership 2.0” represents a practical model for collaborative development and demonstrates how institutions can transform the exchange of expertise into sustainable development projects. He added that the initiative went beyond transferring institutional practices by establishing a collaborative methodology that enhances the readiness of government entities to meet future requirements through investing in knowledge, unifying efforts, and adopting best practices across the Government of Dubai.
The outcomes of “Partners in Leadership 2.0” reaffirm that government excellence in Dubai is built upon shared spaces for learning and development, where government entities exchange expertise and transform successful practices into scalable institutional value. Through this initiative, GDRFA Dubai continues to strengthen its role as an active partner in supporting a more integrated and mature government ecosystem capable of delivering sustainable impact that aligns with Dubai’s ambitions and global leadership.
