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Industrial strategy, roadmap to make UAE a global hub

Ease of doing business is at the heart of the strategy.

The wise and visionary leadership of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of UAE and Ruler of Dubai, is on show in the freshly minted Industrial strategy “Operation 300 billion”. It’s a 10-year comprehensive strategy that aims to empower and expand the industrial sector to become the driving force of a sustainable economy. It is estimated that the industrial sector’s gross contribution to the UAE’s GDP will increase from the current Dh133 billion to Dh300 billion within a decade. The ambitious programme will support 13,500 small and medium enterprises (SMEs) on the back of an able support from the Ministry of Industry and Advanced Technology. Sheikh Mohammed’s game-changing initiative has an eye on the future, where the Internet of Things (IoR) is the pivot. The strategy seeks to focus on new-age industries that implement advanced technology and Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) solutions and applications. Ease of doing business is at the heart of the strategy. The UAE, which aims to top the World Bank’s annual ease of doing business list this year, despite the Covid-19 pandemic challenge, is ranked globally and leads the Middle East and North Africa region. Plans are afoot to offer a competitive package of facilities and incentives to investors amid a concerted push to make the UAE as a global industrial hub for talents and experts.

Sheikh Mohammed has been an ardent advocate of indigenous products to give a distinct identity to the UAE brands. He also launched the Unified Industrial Brand Identity under the slogan “Make it in the Emirates”. This is an extension to the UAE Nation Brand, where the products will compete globally and find their pride of place in the international markets. The country is poised to take a giant leap in the industrial sector and emerge as the driving force of the economy for the next 50 years because it ticks all the boxes such as an abundance of resources, robust policies and an able, stable and visionary leadership to build a global economic base.

His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, is in complete agreement with Sheikh Mohammed, as the nation pivots away from an oil-dependent economy and goes on an overdrive on job creation and a wider sustainable development. He also championed the cause of the youth. The youth will be further empowered in a bid to adapt to the rapidly growing technological advancements and harness their talents to expand key future industrial sectors, Artificial Intelligence, space technologies, energy and pharmaceuticals. A job well begun is half done.