UAE Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology Dr Sultan bin Ahmed Al Jaber has said the UAE industrial exports have grown by more than 70 billion dirhams ($19 billion) in the last three years.
“Industrial exports have grown by 60 percent with significant progress being made last year, amounting to a projected 187 billion dirhams ($50.9 billion) compared to 117 billion dirhams ($31.8 billion) in 2020,” the Minister said Wednesday.
He added that since its establishment, the Ministry of Industry and Advanced Technology (MoIAT) has launched numerous strategic initiatives and programs to empower the national industrial sector as well as enhance the business environment and industrial competitiveness.
“This has contributed to greater national industrial security and self-sufficiency, resulting in 9.3 billion dirhams ($2.5 billion) worth of import substitution projects,” the UAE Minister explained.
He said the Ministry-launched enablers and incentives were among the most important tools for supporting sustainable business growth, and reducing financial barriers and risks for industrial companies, nothing that “financing not only supports innovation and technological transformation but can also enhance business growth and help create more high-tech job opportunities in the private sector.”
Al Jaber said if we look at the sector’s key performance indicators, the industry’s contribution to the UAE’s economy has increased by 49 percent. He added that in 2020, before the ministry was created, the sector's contribution to GDP was 132 billion dirhams ($35.9 billion), while currently, it has reached a projected 197 billion dirhams ($53.6 billion).
Therefore, industrial productivity has increased by 18 percent compared to 2020.
In a statement published by the Emirati news agency, WAM, Al Jaber said MoIAT has launched strategic initiatives and programs to empower the national industrial sector as well as enhance the business environment and industrial competitiveness.
Accordingly, he said his ministry focused on two main pillars.
“The first is boosting in-country value in the national industrial sector while also enhancing the value add of manufacturing. This is to meet our basic necessities and boost supply chain security as well as economic competitiveness in a way that supports national products,” the minister said, while “the second is providing more valuable opportunities to the industrial sector, whether it is through investment opportunities or facilitating access to global markets, as well as attracting foreign investments in advanced industries.”
Al Jaber underscored one of MoIAT’s flagship initiatives is the National In-Country Value (ICV) Program, through which more than 237 billion dirhams ($64.5 billion) being spent outside the UAE has been redirected into the national economy.
“This recapturing of national procurement has contributed to the growth and competitiveness of the industrial sector and has directly enhanced self-sufficiency. So far, 16,000 Emiratis have been employed across ICV-certified companies,” he said.
In terms of promoting advanced technologies and Industry 4.0 solutions, the Emirati Minister said that MoIAT has paved the way for the adoption of robotics, artificial intelligence, blockchain, nanotechnology, biotechnology, the Internet of Things and 3D printing, among others.
These technologies, he noted, have boosted industrial exports, supporting the UAE's position as a leading regional and international hub for future industries.
The Ministry also stimulated high-tech industries with financing solutions worth 1.5 billion dirhams ($408 million) in 2023 alone.
This has resulted in the growth of high-tech exports from 2.9 billion dirhams ($789 million) in 2020 to 3.5 billion dirhams ($952 million) in 2023, according to the minister.
