SHARJAH, 8th May, 2023 (WAM) — H.H. Sheikh Sultan bin Mohammed bin Sultan Al Qasimi, Crown Prince and Deputy Ruler of Sharjah and Chairman, honoured at the Cultural Palace in Sharjah, the winners of the second edition of the Sharjah Award for Public Finance (SAPF).
The ceremony began with the playing of the United Arab Emirates' national anthem and the reading of verses from the Holy Quran.
The audience watched an introductory video presentation about the award, and then Salem Youssef Al Qaseer, the chairman of the Sharjah Award for Public Finance Board of Trustees, gave a speech highlighting the success of the award, which attracted a notable number of Arab participants. The award is considered to be the first of its kind in the Arab world, and it aims to promote sustainable development in Arab countries by assessing adherence to financial sector excellence standards at the government level and enhancing competition.
Dr. Nasser Al Hatlan Al Qahtani, Director General of the Arab Organisation for Administrative Development affiliated with the League of Arab States and Vice-Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Award, congratulated the recipients of the award, who were representatives of Arab countries. He described it as a significant and inspiring step forward for all, highlighting the atmosphere of vitality and creativity that pervaded the competition in the previous period.
Sheikh Rashid bin Saqr Al Qasimi, Director of the Central Finance Department and Secretary General of the Award, stated in his speech that the award represents a qualitative improvement by translating the Sharjah government's directives based on the vision of H.H. Dr. Sheikh Sultan bin Muhammad Al Qasimi, Supreme Council Member and Ruler of Sharjah. The vision emphasises the significance and necessity of adopting initiatives aimed at developing the capability of institutions and individuals and qualifying them to play a vital and pivotal role in supporting the economy and investing money to serve people and sustain a decent life for them.
The award included 17 categories, containing 9 institutional categories and 8 individual categories. The second edition witnessed a remarkable Arab turnout, with the participation of 14 Arab countries, including the United Arab Emirates, the Arab Republic of Egypt, Jordan, Morocco, Palestine, Tunisia, Sudan, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Sultanate of Oman, Kingdom of Bahrain, Qatar, Algeria, Syria and Iraq.
Sharjah Crown Prince honoured the winners in various categories, including the category of the distinguished entity in public finance, won by the Directorate of Administrative and General Affairs of the Moroccan Ministry of Economy and Finance. The category of the distinguished entity in electronic financial systems and applications was won by the Department of Finance in the Government of Dubai.
In the management of financial projects, the Egyptian Tax Authority won the award for the distinguished entity category, while the Sudanese-Jordanian Al-Jazira Bank from Sudan won in the category of the distinguished entity in financial innovation. The Royal Jordanian Geographical Centre won the award for the distinguished entity in control, auditing, and risk management, and the Eskan Bank from the Kingdom of Bahrain won the award for the distinguished entity in providing financial banking services. The Abu Dhabi Pension Fund won the award for the distinguished entity in managing pension funds.
In the individual categories, Bassem bin Muhammad Al-Qabtan won first place in the category of the distinguished Arab financial manager, followed by Nawal Ahmed Abdul Qadir Al-Bakri in second place and Maryam Ali Al-Marri in third place. Mona Bejman Al-Marzouqi won first place in the category of the distinguished Arab budget manager, followed by Haitham Abdel-Al Abdel-Moati in second place and Nisreen Abdel-Majid Habayeb in third place. Ayman Yassin Mahmoud won first place in the distinguished Arab tax manager category, followed by Lieutenant Colonel Dr. Abdullah Ali Al Barakat in second place and Muhib Jibrail Gad in third place. Maqrani Hayat won first place in the category of distinguished Arab electronic financial systems manager, followed by Osama Youssef Abdel-Maqsoud Youssef in second place. Noha Taher Abul-Gheit won first place in the distinguished Arab procurement manager category, and Maryam Khalifa Dasmal Al-Marri won the award for the distinguished Arab financial controller, followed by Dr. Nashwa Sharaf Al-Din in second place and Iyad Omar Al-Rawadhiya in third place. Ahmed Abdel-Hamid Muhammad Al-Salamouni won first place in the distinguished Arab accountant category, followed by Walaa Rabih Abdel-Azim Ahmed in second place and Lana Abdel-Rahim Salam in third place.
The ceremony was attended by several senior officials, heads, and directors of local departments, representatives of the financial sector in the country, and participants from various Arab countries. The Sharjah Crown Prince honored the award's sponsors and strategic partners, as well as the chairman and members of the award's board of trustees. Among the attendees were Sheikh Muhammad bin Saud Al Qasimi, Head of the Central Finance Department, Sheikh Khalid bin Abdullah Al Qasimi, Chairman of the Sharjah Ports, Customs and Free Zones Authority, Sheikh Salem bin Abdul Rahman Al Qasimi, Head of the Office of His Highness the Ruler, Sheikh Majid bin Sultan Al Qasimi, Head of the Department of Suburbs and Villages Affairs, and Sheikh Saud bin Mohammed bin Saud Al Qasimi, CEO of the real estate sector at Sharjah Asset Management Company.