Sheikha Lubna Bint Khalid Al Qasimi, Minister of Foreign Trade, has presented Mohammed Omar Abdullah, Undersecretary of the Abu Dhabi Department of Economic Development (DED), the Distinguished Honoree Medal DED has won as a non-profit government-owned entity in the 8th Annual International Business Awards. Sponsored by the Ministry of Foreign Trade, the DED participated in the Awards which the United Arab Emirates came in third place with 24 "Stevie Awards" following the United States and South Korea.
 
The DED won this medal in recognition of its contributions as a non-profit government-owned entity. The Award Document submitted by the DED was based on three main aspects: Leadership and Society, Strategies, and Employees.
 
The Leadership and Society aspect shed light on the efforts the DED exerts to review its Vision, Mission and Values to ensure that they keep pace with Abu Dhabi Economic Vision 2030, as well as the general policy agenda of Abu Dhabi’s government which aims at building a sustainable knowledge-based economy.
 
This aspect focused on the role played by the DED’s senior management and leadership in creating a perfect work environment that encourages the participation in such Awards. This reflects the DED’s objective of creating a sustainable work climate according to the best international standards by focusing on the community entrepreneurship ’&’ strategic partners in both the local and federal governments.
 
The Award Document also referred to the 2009 DED’s Sustainability Report based on the GRI guidelines and the second Sustainability Report for 2010, which shows how far strategies ’&’ operational plans are applied in the DED’s sectors and the Department’s commitment towards the society.
 
As for the strategy aspect comprised in the Award Document, it tackled the strategies that had been applied by the Department since 2007 which marked the beginning of the strategic planning that goes in line with Abu Dhabi Economic Vision 2030. It also stated the procedures followed in business administration according to the ISO standards which aim at creating an ideal work climate with the employee at the center of attention.
 
The DED document submitted to the Awards also included the aspect of the employees which it regarded as the most important part of its 5-year strategy from 2011 to 2015. It offered a clear assessment of the employees and an accurate scientific classification. It also pointed out the importance of creating an ideal and comfortable work environment by drawing up opinion questionnaires aiming at improving and enhancing the work environment.
 
The Document highlighted some of the results of the questionnaires. While in 2007, 49% of the staff was utterly content, in 2010, the percentage mounted to 75%. The document also revealed the importance the Department places on providing its staff with training courses by allocating AED 12 million for this purpose.
 
The Document stated the efforts the DED exerts to boost and further the investments in Abu Dhabi, and reinforce its competitiveness in the global markets by advertising the available investment opportunities and the facilities and incentives offered to foreign investors by organizing a number of forums and conferences in the United Kingdom, Germany, China, South Korea and Japan.
 
According to the Document, the questionnaire filled in by the participants in those international conferences showed that 82.8% of the foreign investors expressed satisfaction with the facilities and incentives offered by Abu Dhabi Emirate, whereas 88% of Abu Dhabi governmental bodies expressed satisfaction with the services offered by the Department of Economic Development which promote partnership and help fulfill the objectives of the Emirate’s government.
 
It’s worth mentioning that "Stevie" is derived from the name "Stephen", which originated from the Greek for "crowned". The US-based Stevie Awards are conferred in four programs: The American Business Awards, the International Business Awards, the Stevie Awards for Women in Business, and the Stevie Awards for Sales and Customer Service. The Stevie Awards recognize achievements in every facet of the workplace worldwide and generate public recognition of the efforts, accomplishments, and positive contributions of companies and business people all over the world. The mission of the Awards is to honor and raise the profile of exemplary companies and individuals among the press, the business community, and the general public and to recognize the role of the pioneering organizations in all fields.
 
Ministry of Foreign Trade is keen on sponsoring the participation of governmental and semi-governmental bodies in such awards as part of its efforts to advertise for commercial companies and establishments and make their achievements and their productive and export capabilities known at the global level in order to facilitate their entry to the world marketplace.
 

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