Dubai may attract overseas research institutions to support industry as part of its Dubai Industrial Strategy. Abdulaziz Istaitieh, an economic adviser to the socioeconomic development department of Dubai’s Executive Council, said the Government may look to build its own research institutions over the long term.
In the short term it is also considering joint ventures with international centres of excellence to provide the type of expertise that will be needed to deliver its strategy.
Mr Istaitieh said the strategy, which was unveiled by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, in June, is aimed at growing not only the size but also the knowledge base of the sector.
Just 3 per cent of existing manufacturing firms are considered to be high-tech, he said at the GCC Manufacturing Excellence & Technology Summit in Dubai yesterday.
The strategy will seek to avoid industries deemed to be either energy- or labour-intensive.
“We will not focus on such sectors. However, it does not mean that the UAE will not focus on these sectors. As a metropolitan city, we need to be selective on which industries we choose, to make sure that all of the sectors we select are very successful.”
The strategy has set a number of ambitious targets, which include growing investment in research and development by Dh700 million by 2030, as well as creating 27,000 new high-value jobs and growing the size of the industrial sector by Dh18bn – Dh16bn of which will come through exports.
Six industries have been identified as having the greatest potential, with three of these – aluminium and fabricated metals, fast-moving consumer goods and machinery and equipment – chosen for their existing strengths. The other three have been chosen because of the opportunities presented.
Aerospace for instance, has been selected because of the strength of Emirates, which has one of the biggest fleets in the sector.
“We want to build an industry that would back this global player,” Mr Istaitieh said.
The same rationale exists for maritime, he said, because of the strength of DP World and the fact that Dubai has an existing dry dock facility, while medical equipment has also been identified given the significant number of cosmetic surgery and medical facilities in the city.
Mr Istaitieh said it was not about creating government-backed giants within each industry, but facilitating private sector growth by encouraging foreign direct investment and supporting local SMEs.
“We want the private sector to lead and we want to enhance,” he said.
He said that several workshops had already been held with private sector firms to see whether the 75 initiatives and incentives proposed made sense, and that these would be “stress-tested” at workshops hosted by Dubai Chamber next month.
“We want the private sector to tell us: are these initiatives the right ones? Are these your priority or not?”
Sami Al Qamzi, the director general of Dubai’s Department of Economic Development, told the event that manufacturing currently contributed 14 per cent of Dubai’s GDP. The emirate wants to increase this proportion to 20 per cent by 2020 and 25 per cent by 2025.
He said more than half of world manufacturing imports are intermediate and semi-finished goods, and that in industries such as mining, parts manufacture and textiles, more than a third of intermediate goods are used to produce exports.
Dubai’s industrial strategy “builds on existing comparative advantages in distribution and transport services that play a critical role in value creation as they provide the necessary links in supply chains”, he said.
mfahy@thenational.ae
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