Abu Dhabi - The UAE on yesterday approved a zero-deficit 60.3 billion dirham ($16.4 billion) budget for 2019, up 17 percent from this year's budget and the largest in the country's history. According to the state-run WAM news agency, over 40 percent of next year's budget will go towards community development, 17 percent towards education and 7 percent to healthcare. The UAE's Vice President Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum said the cabinet had also approved a 180 billion dirham budget for the next three years. "Fifty-nine percent of [the three-year budget] will go towards education and social development," Sheikh Mohammed, also the ruler of Dubai, tweeted on yesterday. "Our budget is without deficit, and next year's budget will be the largest in the history of the country."

Source: Philippine Star September 30, 2018 17:15 UTC