In recent months, global disruption has become an operational reality for industries across the region. Supply chain pressures have tested systems, but they have also shown the value of the UAE’s industrial ecosystem. When resilience and flexibility are designed into the way manufacturing sectors operate, essential goods and services keep moving. This is reflected in how industries and institutions across the nation have co-ordinated and adapted in response to the current situation.
In the UAE, this principle has long been a national priority. The UAE’s industrial strategy represents one of the most comprehensive national efforts to strengthen the industrial sector and elevate its role in driving economic growth. With an ambitious goal to increase the sector’s contribution to gross domestic product to Dh300 billion ($81.68 billion) by 2031, the strategy delivers on a clear national direction that will come into sharper focus at the Make it in the Emirates forum this week.
This year’s event comes at an important moment. It will be an opportunity for industrial leaders to come together to reflect on the resilience of our sector over the past two months, and how we can continue to advance our approach to supply chains, technology, and execution capabilities so as to strengthen local manufacturing and enable companies of all sizes to scale and export from the UAE.
At the heart of this transformation is a decisive shift towards local supply chains, flexible production and reliable access to critical materials. Although global integration remains vital, equally important are strong domestic industrial foundations across every sector – from aerospace and automotive to pharmaceuticals and food production.
Meeting this need requires leading players to rethink traditional manufacturing models and adopt more agile, technology-enabled approaches that prioritise flexibility, proximity and continuity.
Last week, the UAE introduced a Dh1 billion national fund for industrial resilience to support the localisation of strategic industries, enhance supply chain robustness, and drive the adoption of artificial intelligence in production, operations and planning.
These efforts are not only about mitigating risk but also about unlocking long-term value. By strengthening local industrial capabilities, the UAE is positioning itself to compete globally while ensuring greater self-sufficiency at home, building industries that can respond to disruption and sustain growth in an increasingly uncertain world.
Borouge’s own recent experience showed the value of local capability, strong partnerships and operational flexibility. We activated alternative logistics routes enabling the majority of our production in March to be distributed via these routes, mitigating impact on customer supply, with additional inventories placed in storage to be sold in Q2.
Our decisive business continuity and emergency response plans not only maintained supply for our customers but also safeguarded the flow of essential materials that underpin food security, healthcare and infrastructure.
Resilience in times of disruption has been reinforced through co-ordinated action, across Abu Dhabi’s ports in maintaining the steady movement of critical imports and exports, to Etihad Rail enabling reliable inland connectivity, to the use of AI-driven platforms to enhance demand forecasting, route optimisation and real-time supply chain visibility.
As a leading petrochemicals company, Borouge plays a critical, if often unseen, role in enabling this resilience. Through advanced polyolefin solutions, the company supports essential sectors that people rely on every day.
Investments in strategic projects like Borouge 4 are expanding the country’s industrial capabilities, with the commissioning of the XLPE 2 facility paving the way for advanced, high-purity materials for wire and cable applications essential to modern energy and infrastructure systems.
UAE-made materials are playing a vital role across every sector. Borouge is strengthening local manufacturing in critical sectors such as healthcare through partnerships including Mubadala Bio, enabling the production of medical-grade polyolefins and reinforcing supply security. Underpinning all our work with customers is the company’s Innovation Centre, which allows us to develop advanced, locally relevant solutions that meet real-world needs, further strengthening industrial and innovation capacity.
Local resilience is strongest when domestic capability is connected to international expertise, investment and market access. Borouge’s growth reflects this approach, including through the long-term partnership between ADNOC and OMV. By combining UAE industrial strength with global capabilities, UAE companies can build scale, serve customers more reliably and compete effectively in international markets.
Taken together, these efforts point to a broader shift in how industrial growth is defined and sustained. By investing in local capabilities and fostering integrated industrial ecosystems, the UAE is both safeguarding supply and strengthening its long-term economic competitiveness. This is an important step in our country’s industrial evolution over the longer-term, positioning the Emirates to reliably produce the materials and systems that sustain modern life, from the food we consume to the energy we depend on.
In an era defined by uncertainty, resilience is the foundation upon which sustainable industrial growth and national economic security must be built.
