UAE, Egypt, Jordan and Bahrain sign $2 billion of industrial agreements

Companies from the UAE, Egypt, Jordan and Bahrain signed industrial agreements with an investment value exceeding $ 2 billion at the third higher committee meeting of the Industrial Partnership for Sustainable Economic Development.

The meeting kicked off in Amman on Sunday in the presence of Dr Sultan bin Ahmed Al Jaber, UAE Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology and the UAE's special envoy for climate change; Ahmed Samir Saleh, Egyptian Minister of Industry and Trade of Egypt; Yousef Al Shamali, Jordanian Minister of Industry, Trade and Supply; and Abdulla Adel Fakhro, Bahraini Minister of Industry and Commerce.

The meeting included the signing of 12 agreements across nine industrial projects. The projects are expected to create approximately 13,000 job opportunities and boost national GDP in the partnering countries by more than $1.6 billion.

Jordan’s Prime Minister Dr Bisher Al Khasawneh attended the signing ceremony of the partnership agreements along with the industrial ministers from the four countries.

Dr Al Khasawneh met the ministers of the partner countries and stressed the importance of this partnership in strengthening bilateral relations and economic development, along with the importance of the industrial sector’s role within participating countries.

"We are grateful for His Majesty King Abdullah II for his continuous support for UAE-Jordanian relations, and for his support of the Integrated Industrial Partnership for Sustainable Economic Development. We thank the government of Jordan and its people for their hospitality in hosting the third meeting of the Higher Committee for the Integrated Industrial Partnership for Sustainable Economic Development," Dr Al Jaber said.

Dr Al Jaber said: “We are keen on collaborating and complementing regional efforts to achieve integrated sustainable economic development. The UAE is committed to enhancing collaboration with member states to ensure we all benefit from each other’s competitive advantages and capabilities.

“This partnership is beginning to yield tangible results. It represents an exceptional model for industrial partnerships among private sector companies. It is testament to our collective ability to plan, integrate, and progress towards achieving our objectives, all while we are still at the beginning of this fruitful partnership. We are confident that we will witness the development of many new projects in the future,” he said.

He added: “We call on companies in our respective countries to enter these partnerships and put forward proposals for projects that benefit from the capabilities of our countries and from our competitive advantages, resources, and expertise. As governments, our responsibility is to support these projects, enhance partnerships and provide the economic environment that enables their success.”

For his part, Al Shamali, Jordan’s Minister of Industry, Trade and Supply, said: “Since launching this partnership, we have witnessed a multi-faceted boom that heralds the start of a profound and sustainable transformation in the relations between our industrial sectors. The first aspect of this shift was reflected in the economic discourse adopted by officials and media, who highlighted the benefits that our countries will reap through pursuing industrial integration. This is an integrated Arab effort directed by the highest political levels of the four countries.

Eng. Ahmed Samir Saleh, Egypt's Minister of Industry and Trade, underlined Egypt's commitment to enhancing multilateral efforts with the UAE, Jordan and Bahrain to boost industrial integration among Arab nations and support economic relations.

"The economic crisis the world is currently experiencing demonstrates the necessity of achieving industrial integration among Arab states. It is clear we must strengthen regional partnerships and include the private sector as a major partner in implementing sustainable development plans and helping the Arab region to prosper.

“Recent geopolitical and economic challenges demand stronger bonds among Arab nations and more robust economic partnerships. These partnerships can help to enhance resilience against future crises as well as achieve self-sufficiency and sustainable economic development," he said.

Abdulla bin Adel Fakhro, Bahrain's Minister of Industry and Commerce, said the partnership offers a real opportunity to increase the efficiency of supply chains through the integration of industries in the region, which is a pillar of Bahrain's industrial strategy.

"Bahrain has proposed more than 10 industrial projects with an estimated investment value of over $2 billion. These include mature projects and projects in their early stages. The locations of these factories vary, as we believe that all partner countries should benefit from them.”

He also invited the partnership to hold its next meeting in 2023 in Bahrain.

12 major agreements

The Egyptian company Soda Chemical Industries announced an investment of $500 million to produce sodium carbonate, ‘soda ash’, which is the main raw material in many industries, such as the glass and detergent sector. The facility will have a production capacity of 500,000 tons annually. A MoU was signed for a strategic partnership with the Emirates Flat Glass Company, owned by Dubai Investments, to purchase the final product.

UAE-based automotive manufacturer M Glory Holding announced the launch of a large manufacturing project with an investment of $550 million. The project will establish three electric vehicle factories with specialised production and assembly lines in the UAE, Jordan and Egypt. Production capacity will reach 40,000 compact crossover SUVs during the first three years of operation. M Glory Holding signed memoranda of understanding with the Jordan Design and Development Bureau and Egypt's Arab Organization for Industrialisation as manufacturing partners, and with Bahrain's GARMCO to supply aluminum sheets. The agreement exemplifies how the partnership aligns with sustainability objectives and the UAE’s presidency of COP28.

Emirati investor-owned CFC Group announced it will invest $400 million to establish an industrial complex for fertilizers and chemicals in Egypt. It signed MoUs with Jordan-based Arab Potash and Egypt’s Misr Phosphate Company to supply raw materials. The industrial complex will have an annual production capacity of half-a-ton of fodder and potash fertilizers, and 1.1 tonnes of chemicals.

Emirates Global Aluminium announced a $200 million investment to establish a silicon metal plant in the UAE with a production capacity of 55,000 tonnes per year. The company signed a MoU with the Jordan’s Manaseer Group to supply the required crystalline silica.

Manaseer Group announced the expansion of a $70 million magnesium oxide plant in Jordan. Once completed, the plant will have a total production capacity of 270,000 tonnes annually, which will be exported to the UAE. It will sell its product to Emirates Global Aluminium. Production is set to commence in 2024.

The UAE's Globalpharma entered a partnership with Egypt’s Nerhadou to develop advanced technology for the manufacturing of medicines and supplements. An agreement was also signed to transfer technology to two Jordanian companies – Savvy Pharma and Triumph. Both projects will commence in 2023 with a total investment value of $60 million. Production capacity will reach five million packages annually per product.

— muzaffarrizvi@khaleejtimes.com