The UAE Ministry of Finance is exploring the use of Agentic AI to redesign financial services and processes, streamline procedures and reduce the time and effort required to complete government processes, a senior ministry official said.
Fatima Yousif Al Naqbi, Acting Assistant Undersecretary for the Support Services Sector at the Ministry of Finance, said the ministry is engaging customers, strategic partners, and other stakeholders to identify where Agentic AI could be applied across its financial services and processes.
She said the Ministry presented a number of proposed concepts for participants to assess and provide feedback on, with the aim of identifying opportunities for enhancement and ensuring that the solutions respond to customers’ actual needs.
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She added that the Ministry also wants participants to identify additional areas that need to be considered, with their feedback supporting the further development of proposed solutions.
Al Naqbi was speaking on the sidelines of a Customer Council held by the Ministry in Dubai as part of the third cycle of the Zero Bureaucracy Programme, which focuses on re-engineering financial operations and procedures and exploring the direct and responsible deployment of Agentic AI.
According to the Ministry of Finance, the new phase focuses on advancing financial procedures and services and harnessing Agentic AI to support financial operations, with the aim of developing more proactive processes that save time and effort while maintaining appropriate governance and oversight.
From budgeting to procurement
The financial services and processes being examined under the third cycle cover six key areas are: budget preparation; transfer of financial allocations between chapters and programmes; request to impose or modify fees for Federal Agencies services; employee payroll procedures; government procurement; and the final account preparation cycle.
During the Customer Council, participants explored how Agentic AI could be deployed directly and responsibly across these areas, including the tasks it could support, the data and inputs required, the stages of review and verification, and the safeguards needed before moving from testing to implementation.
Customers, strategic partners, and employees with knowledge of the relevant policies, procedures and requirements play an important role in the co-creation process, Al Naqbi said.
Customer engagement was also a key part of the Ministry’s work during the first two cycles of the Zero Bureaucracy Programme, helping identify challenges, propose improvements and assess redesigned services and procedures.
The Ministry said the first two cycles delivered tangible progress in reducing procedures and eliminating unnecessary requirements during 2024 and 2025, providing a foundation for the third cycle and its increased focus on the practical deployment of Agentic AI.
The feedback and recommendations generated through the latest Customer Council will support the Ministry’s implementation teams in redesigning financial services and processes and establishing the frameworks needed to govern and monitor their performance.
Zero Bureaucracy Programme
The Zero Bureaucracy Programme aims to simplify government procedures, eliminate unnecessary requirements and improve the efficiency of government services and operations.
In its third cycle, the programme is placing greater emphasis on reducing unnecessary burdens on businesses and individuals in terms of time, effort and resources, while supporting the effective and secure adoption of Agentic AI.
As part of its broader efforts to engage customers in improving government services, the Ministry of Finance has introduced several initiatives, including Customer Councils, interactive workshops and the Sadeed Competition, which provides a platform for innovative ideas and constructive proposals aimed at simplifying procedures and enhancing the customer journey.
Through these initiatives, the Ministry seeks to involve customers and strategic partners more directly in designing and testing solutions, with the aim of developing more efficient, flexible and proactive financial services.
Source: Khaleej Times
