Move over gas and oil!

Al Ain: The Industrial sector is the second largest contributor to the UAE’s economy after oil and gas in 2014, representing about 14 per cent of the national output, Minister of Economy, Sultan Bin Saeed Al Mansouri, said in Al Ain on Tuesday.

He was speaking at a ceremony to launch the Global Manufacturing and Industrialisation Summit to be held in Abu Dhabi next year.

“The industrial sector is playing a pivotal role in diversification of the economy away from oil and gas. It has immense potential for sustained growth, to attract investments and for building a sustained future for generations to come,” he said.

“The UAE is currently experiencing large scale industrial expansion and a period of excellence. This is evidenced by the investment in industrial plans in the country which amounted to more than Dh127 billion and also rise in the number of industrial facilities to a total of more than 6,000. The number of workers in this sector is estimated to be around 433,000 employees.”

The UAE has been highly successful in achieving global excellence, having been ranked 12th worldwide in the Global competitiveness report for 2015, he added. “This is an indication that the UAE can play a significant role in the manufacturing sector at a global level in years to come.”

During the ceremony, the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (Unido) entered into an agreement with the Republic of Guinea to assist the development of the country’s industrial and manufacturing economy.

Professor Alpha Condé, President of Guinea said the Guinea’s economy must become balanced so that we are not at the mercy of commodity pricing — as is the case with any country which is overly reliant on commodity exploitation. “The solution is diversification. We must diversify into new industrial options, so that our GDP can grow not just because of increased commodity prices or enhanced production, but because it has developed new value propositions that are adjacent or separate to existing economic drivers,” he said. “Developing economies have to have the courage to move away from what they know and grasp the opportunity to develop something new. By being in this aerospace factory today I can say that the UAE has been rewarded for its courage.”

The launch ceremony on Tuesday was held at the Strata Manufacturing facility owned by Mubadala, an Abu Dhabi investment and development company. Over 200 public and private sector delegates including regional CEOs from some of the world’s most influential global corporations took part in it.

The Global Manufacturing and Industrialisation Summit will be held in Abu Dhabi in September next year. It is aimed at fostering the development of global standards for manufacturing and industrial innovation by bringing toether representatives from various sectors. –End-

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