Abu Dhabi will jointly host the UN’s first global manufacturing summit next year with the aim of “carving out a road map for the future of manufacturing globally”, said Sultan Al Mansouri, the Minister of Economy, yesterday.
The summit will be held under the auspices of the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (Unido).
It will be part of the UN’s efforts to advance its 17 sustainable development goals that are expected to be formally adopted by its assembly this year, according to Li Yong, Unido’s director general.
These goals include promoting infrastructure development, as well as “inclusive and sustainable” industrialisation and innovation.
The World Economic Forum (WEF) will be involved in organising the summit in Abu Dhabi and is promoting its global manufacturing and infrastructure initiatives.
At its biennial Middle East gathering last month, the WEF urged wealthy GCC states to invest more in the economic development of the region’s poorer countries.
Mr Al Mansouri said the summit would also help to focus international attention on the UAE's efforts to diversify its economy away from oil.
This includes an ambitious target to nearly double manufacturing’s share of the economy from 11 per cent to 20 per cent by 2025.
“This will give us the opportunity to showcase the UAE,” said Mr Al Mansouri. “We strongly believe in industrialisation and globalisation. It is an important part of building diversity in the UAE’s economy.”
In April the UAE issued a new Companies Law that allows companies to list on stock exchanges by issuing 30 per cent of their equity, down from the previous requirement of 55 per cent.
That and changes to other rules are primarily aimed at making it easier for small and medium-sized companies (SMEs) to raise funds for expansion.
The Companies Law kept the provision that foreign ownership in UAE companies be limited to 49 per cent, but Mr Al Mansouri said the Government was working out a system to allow majority foreign ownership “on a case by case, sector by sector basis”.
Regarding the foreign direct investment law under discussion, he said: “It will be selective and identify the sectors from manufacturing – as well as many others – that will serve the future agenda of the UAE’s economy, and make sure that through the cabinet all these sectors will be approved for moving up beyond the 49 per cent.”
Mr Li said he expected the summit would not only be a talking shop but would include representatives from the highest levels of government and the private sector. He said they would be able to agree on a concrete set of policies and goals to promote sustainable development and job growth.
Abu Dhabi was chosen to host the first two Global Manufacturing and Industrialisation Summits – next year and 2018 – partly because of its geographic location.
“The Government has a very clear vision for industrialisation and transformation of the economy that is exactly in line with Unido’s mandate that global manufacturing should be in the new format,” he said.
That means manufacturing that is not only sustainable and inclusive, but it recognises that manufacturing is different in nature and scale than in previous stages of industrialisation.
This was echoed by Mr Al Mansouri, who said the UAE was focusing on developing SMEs. "We should not think of manufacturing in terms of big chimneys emitting smoke, but they can be built around a family enterprise, working together with new ideas and making perhaps parts for some other high-tech business," said the minister. Nevertheless, the UAE would prioritise industries that are higher up in the value chain than the industries presently dominating the economy, said Mr Al Mansouri.
It would focus particularly on plastics and aluminium, two industries that are downstream from the petrochemicals sector.
amcauley@thenational.ae
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