The UAE plans to outsource most government tasks to the private sector and cut the number of ministries, the prime minister said on Monday, without providing a timeframe for the changes.

"We will have a road map to outsource most government services to the private sector. The new government will have a smaller number of ministries and more ministers to deal with national and strategic issues," Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, who is also the Vice President of the UAE and the Dubai Ruler, said on his official Twitter account.

In probably a world first, the Premier announced the “biggest structural changes in the history of the federation” on Twitter while holding a live conversation with his 10 million followers on social media at the #WorldGovSummit, reported the Emirates 24/7.

“I would like to announce to the people of the UAE that the UAE President has approved the biggest structural change in the Federal Government,” he tweeted.

In the new government strategy, said Sheikh Mohammed, the government will have a roadmap to outsource most government services to the private sector.

The governments must be flexible. "We do not need more ministries, but more capable ministers dealing with change,” he was quoted as saying in the report.

The changes include "merging the Ministries of Education and Higher Education under the ministers and one with the Ministers of State for his support in the national task."

Sheikh Mohammed said the government will be creating the Emirates Foundation for Schools to manage public schools and give it the authority and independence to run all public schools.

It will be run by an independent board of directors and will be accountable to the government for achieving national targets in education

On the same lines, the UAE has adopted structural changes in the Ministry of Health with the setting up of an independent institution to manage government hospitals.

In addition, the role of the Ministry of Health will undergo a change to focus on prevention of diseases and the protection of society from the diseases in addition to regulating the health sector, he said.

As per the new plan, the Ministry of Health will be renamed as the Ministry of Health and Prevention of Diseases.

Sheikh Mohammed also announced a major change in the role of the Ministry of Labour in terms of workforce management to take the country to a new stage of development and knowledge economy.