It is a necessity to invest in strengthening the UAE's industrial base, Dr Sultan Al Jaber, Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology, said on Monday.
The industrial sector plays a key role in the national economy, with its contribution having reached Dh200 billion ($54.45 billion) – an increase of 70 per cent.
Industrial exports from the UAE, the Arab world’s second-largest economy, have grown to Dh262 billion, including Dh92 billion in advanced industrial exports, Dr Al Jaber told delegates at the Make it in the Emirates event in Abu Dhabi.
“These figures are not merely growth … they are proof that our industrial economic model works, produces and continues to accelerate,” he said. The industrial sector provides the foundations of "resilience and the ability to adapt", when faced with adversity, he added.
“It protects our economy from the volatility of global markets. And it strengthens our capacity to endure and remain steadfast when we are tested," said Dr Al Jaber, who is also managing director and group chief executive of Adnoc.
“Those who manufacture, own their decisions. Those who build, own their future. And those who combine both ... secure their sovereignty and resilience.”
Iran's unprovoked attacks on the UAE this year, he said, have not shaken the country's resolve and that experience did not change "who we are ... and revealed our determination".
"There are nations that use crises to learn, adapt and advance. This is the UAE – steadfast in its principles … bold in its action … and clear in its direction," Dr Al Jaber said in his keynote address at Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre.
The UAE has emerged stronger from the unjust aggression and has learnt "invaluable lessons and enduring truths", he said. "The truth that our infrastructure is resilient and unshakable. That our trusted partnerships are steadfast. Our principles … built on reliability, resilience and credibility … are not slogans, but foundations the world can depend on."
Industrial focus
The UAE has prioritised development of the industrial sector, a central pillar of the government economic diversification drive, as it reduces its reliance on hydrocarbon revenue to fuel its economy. The Emirates launched its industrial strategy, Operation 300bn, in 2021, to position itself as a global industrial hub by 2031.
The UAE’s overarching agenda is focused on priority industries including chemicals, electrical, construction, machinery and equipment, food, transport, metals, pharmaceuticals, rubber, plastic and fibreglass, and wood and paper.
The Emirates has in recent years also invested heavily in advance technologies and artificial intelligence, with multibillion dollar projects being built the UAE capital.
Growth funds
Last week, the UAE launched a Dh1 billion fund to support the industrial sector and announced a national strategy to secure supply chains and boost local food, medicine and industrial production.
The National Industrial Resilience Fund is part of a broader package of initiatives the government announced before the four-day Make it in the Emirates event. The fund will support priority industries including primary metals, mechanical, electrical and chemical units, as well as pharmaceuticals and active medicine ingredients, medical supplies, advanced technology and construction.
Last year, the government launched the Emirates Growth Fund, a Dh1 billion investment platform under the Emirates Development Bank, to support small and medium businesses. The bank expected to approve up to Dh9 billion in funding this year, its chief executive, Ahmed Al Naqbi, told The National in April.
Economic security
Dr Al Jaber said Iran's closure of the Strait of Hormuz was detrimental to the global economy and pushed up costs and inflation.
“Economic security cannot be imported, it must be built and protected. And the security of vital trade routes is not a regional matter alone, but a shared global responsibility,” he said. “The Strait of Hormuz must never be held hostage or used as a tool of economic coercion and extortion. Freedom of international navigation is non-negotiable and cannot be compromised.”
The legal status of the strait as an international waterway “must not be altered” because this would constitute a “dangerous and unacceptable precedent ... and a direct threat to global economic security", he added.
Opec exit
Dr Al Jaber also emphasised that the UAE’s decision last week to exit the Opec and Opec+ groups of oil producers was a sovereign move that would enable the country to “reposition itself within the global energy landscape”.
It is “not a decision directed against anyone … it is a carefully considered strategic decision that reflects our confidence in our capabilities, and our ambition for a more diversified economy and a better future", he said.
The UAE, the world's seventh-largest oil producer, noted a growing mismatch between its rising production capacity and the quotas it was permitted to pump under the group's framework. As part of Opec, the UAE had been producing about 30 per cent below its capacity of 4.85 million barrels per day.
The move to withdraw is part of a broader effort to reshape the UAE’s economy and industrial base, Dr Al Jaber said. However, he stressed the UAE “will remain a trusted and responsible partner in global energy markets … as we continue to play our role in supporting the stability of global markets from a position of greater flexibility”.
