MoIAT's steering committee plans initiatives to support UAE's industrial sector

In its inaugural meeting, the committee discussed ways to develop standards, laws and technical regulations in the UAE

The UAE's Operation 300bn strategy aims to boost the industrial sector’s contribution to the economy. Sarah Dea / The National

The Steering Committee for Standardisation and Metrology, part of the Ministry of Industry and Advanced Technology (MoIAT), discussed new initiatives to support the growth of the UAE's industrial sector during its first meeting held on Wednesday.

The agenda included modernising the ecosystem of technical committees and teams as well as their work mechanisms, state news agency Wam reported.

The committee “evaluated plans and initiatives under MoIAT’s standards and legislation sector to engage the industrial sector in developing standards, laws and technical regulations in the UAE”, the report said.

It also discussed MoIAT’s plan to restructure national technical committees for standards, which will help improve the quality of national industrial products while meeting health, safety and environmental requirements.

MoIAT, responsible for enacting the National Strategy for Industry and Advanced Technology launched by the UAE government in the first quarter of 2021, has achieved “several outstanding results within one year of its establishment”, Dr Sultan Al Jaber, Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology, said last month.

This has “supported the growth of the UAE’s industrial sector by contributing to its capabilities, competitiveness and attractiveness".

The Operation 300bn strategy aims to boost the industrial sector’s contribution to the economy to Dh300bn by 2031 from Dh133bn in 2021. It also seeks to support 13,500 small and medium enterprises over the next decade.

The steering committee is responsible for supervising the development of the legislative ecosystem for standard specifications and their mandatory regulations, developing integrated infrastructure and assessing draft standards and technical legislation.

Omar Al Suwaidi, under-secretary of MoIAT and chairman of the steering committee, emphasised during the meeting on Wednesday that the ministry's ability to co-ordinate and integrate with its partners, including federal and local government agencies, directly affects the development of policies, laws and programmes that boost the growth of national industries and enhances their competitiveness.

He said the ministry’s approach creates a “conducive and attractive business environment for local and global industrial investors while stimulating innovation and the adoption of advanced technology in industrial systems and solutions".