UAE BUDGET TRANSPERANCY

UNCLAS ABU DHABI 000337 SENSITIVE SIPDIS DEPT FOR EEB/IFD/OMA: JULIA JACOBY AND NEA/ARP E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: EAID ECON PREL AE SUBJECT: UAE BUDGET TRANSPERANCY Ref: STATE 28885 ¶1. (SBU) In response to reftel request regarding UAE budget transparence, responses below are keyed to reftel para 3: -- The UAE is expected to receive FY-09 foreign assistance. -- The UAE federal budget, including revenue and expenditure, is available from the Ministry of Finance on request and is published in the local media. The UAE Consolidated Government Finance Account (published by the Central Bank) reports revenue and expenditure for the UAE's seven emirates, although not broken down by emirate and omitting certain budget data, such as investment income. -- Incomes and expenditures are included in the federal budget. ¶2. (SBU) The federal budget accurately reflects federal revenues and expenditures. However, emirate-level budgets, which represent the majority of consolidated UAE revenues and expenditures, are less transparent. OLSON