Mohammed bin Rashid honours UAE Government Excellence Award winners

Dubai: His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, on Thursday honoured the winners of the 2026 Mohammed bin Rashid Government Excellence Award, recognising outstanding federal entities, government leaders and employees for their contributions to public sector excellence.

The ceremony also saw Sheikh Mohammed confer the Mohammed bin Rashid Sash on Sheikh Surour bin Mohammed Al Nahyan in recognition of his distinguished national service and contributions to the UAE's development over several decades.

In a post on X, Sheikh Mohammed said: “Today, we attended the ceremony honouring the winners of the 2026 Government Excellence Award, where we recognised the leading federal entities, the best managers and the best specialists in the federal government.”

He added: “The most memorable moment of the ceremony was honouring my brother, Sheikh Surour bin Mohammed Al Nahyan, with the Mohammed bin Rashid Sash, in recognition of his distinguished national career and his contributions to the country's progress over many decades of his life.”

Congratulating the winners, Sheikh Mohammed reaffirmed the UAE's commitment to fostering a culture of excellence across government institutions.

“We congratulate all the winners on their excellence awards, which we introduced more than 30 years ago as a new concept in our country. We will continue this journey because excellence is not a goal, but a mindset and a culture,” he said.

“It is a mindset that strives for perfection without ever reaching it, one that constantly redefines success and has the courage to embrace continuous change and experimentation. Excellence is one of the virtues of good governance," the Vice President added.

Dubai teacher, school principal among winners

A teacher and a school principal in Dubai were among the individual winners recognised at Thursday's ceremony, held at Expo City Dubai.

Iman Mohammed Al Khouri received the Prime Minister's Medal for Best Teacher, while Maimouna Hashem Al Muaini, principal of Zayed Educational Complex in Dubai, was awarded the Prime Minister's Medal for Best School Principal.

The awards also recognised federal entities, government projects, senior officials and employees for improving institutional performance, introducing innovative solutions and strengthening the government's readiness for future challenges.

New AI and future-readiness awards

Four new award categories were introduced in the 2026 edition, reflecting the UAE government's growing emphasis on artificial intelligence, proactive governance and future readiness.

The categories recognise excellence in AI applications, proactivity and future readiness, as well as outstanding chief AI officers and chief future-readiness officers.

The Federal Authority for Government Human Resources won the award for Best Entity in AI Applications, while Abdullah Ghuloom Al Bastaki of the Federal Tax Authority received the Prime Minister's Medal for Best Chief AI Officer.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs was recognised for excellence in proactivity and future readiness. The Ministry of Education also received an award, sharing the Most Improved Ministry title with the Ministry of Community Empowerment.

Sheikh Mohammed, accompanied by Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, also presented an award recognising the Leading Federal Entity in Sustaining Excellence.

The ministries of Interior, Finance and Foreign Affairs were recognised as leading federal entities in sustained excellence.

The Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation won the leading federal entity award for ministries with more than 500 employees. The Ministry of Economy and Tourism received the honour for ministries with fewer than 500 employees.

Special recognition also went to ‘Hayat’, the Ministry of Health and Prevention’s organ and tissue donation and transplantation programme, and ‘Make it in the Emirates’, led by the Ministry of Industry and Advanced Technology.

Recognising government excellence

The 2026 edition featured 10 main and subcategories for institutional awards, 13 Prime Minister's Medals and special recognition categories.

The evaluation process covered 30 federal government entities, while 57 government leaders and 236 employees were nominated for the Prime Minister's Medals. More than 130 Emirati and international experts and assessors participated in the evaluation process.

The Mohammed bin Rashid Government Excellence Award, launched in 2009 under the Sheikh Khalifa Government Excellence Programme, is one of the UAE's highest honours for government performance.

Held every two years, it recognises federal institutions and individuals whose achievements contribute to improving government efficiency, service quality, innovation and public sector competitiveness