The UAE government launched a 10-year industrial development programme called ‘Operation 300bn’ on 22 March as part of efforts to increase the industrial sector’s contribution to the country’s gross domestic product (GDP).
The country’s Ministry of Industry and Advanced Technology (MoIAT) will roll out programmes and initiatives to support 13,500 industrial small- and medium-enterprises (SMEs) in order to bolster industrial GDP contributions from current levels of AED133 billion (USD36 billion) to AED300 billion by 2031. Broadly, the strategy will focus on “future industries that implement advanced technology and the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) solutions and applications”. Key manufactured products the strategy will centre on includes space technologies, medical supplies and pharmaceuticals, clean and renewable energy, machinery and equipment, rubber and plastics, chemicals, metals, advanced technologies manufacturing, electronics, and food and beverages.
The programme was officially launched by Vice President and Prime Minister of the United Arab Emirates and ruler of Dubai, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum. Sheikh Maktoum said in a statement, “the industrial strategy will achieve a giant leap in the UAE’s industrial sector to become the main driving force of the national economy and lead the journey of our next 50 years with greater confidence and speed”, adding that “developing the industrial sector and achieving self-sufficiency in some vital sectors safeguards our economy against emerging global crises”.
UAE Minister of Economy Abdulla bin Touq Al Marri added that, “The manufacturing and mining industries accounted for nearly 38% of the country’s real GDP in 2019, with a total value of AED569 billion. Manufacturing alone contributed some AED135 billion to GDP at current prices, achieving a compound annual growth rate of 4% and accounting for 9% of overall national GDP and 12% of non-oil GDP.”
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