GMIS to take its event model global starting with launch of GMIS America in 2021

Summit announces new partnership model that will link with more cities keen on sustainable development

Pittsburgh has successfully revived its industrial heritage and turned into a high-tech manufacturing cluster, according to Badr Al-Olama. Courtesy GMIS

The Global Manufacturing and Industrialisation Summit will take its event model to cities around the world that are keen on promoting sustainable industrial development, starting with Pittsburgh in the US.

Pittsburgh, an early-20th century industrial capital that is turning into a hub for artificial intelligence and robotics, will host the inaugural GMIS America in 2021, summit organisers said on Sunday.

“Pittsburgh is once again on the world stage, but this time not for the production of steel, aluminium, or glass, but for the creation of innovation,” the city's mayor, William Peduto, said.

“Organising GMIS America in 2021 is testament to how we have overcome the struggles of the past 30 years and turned our fortunes around.”

The announcement came during the closing ceremony of the two-day GMIS event that was held online on Friday and Saturday due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

GMIS is a joint initiative between the UAE government and the UN Industrial Development Organisation that was set up in 2015 to encourage collaboration between the public and private sectors in adopting new technology to make manufacturing processes more efficient.

Discussions at the US event will revolve around the so-called “Society 5.0”, or the idea of balancing technological and economic advancement with the resolution of social issues, GMIS said.

While the concept has begun to spread around the world, the Covid-19 pandemic has given it an extra nudge, Mayor Peduto said.

Badr Al-Olama, head of the organising committee of GMIS, said Pittsburgh was successful in not just reviving its industrial heritage but also developing into a high-tech manufacturing cluster.

“For one of the most industrially developed [cities in the US] to be organising the first edition of GMIS America in 2021 ... reflects the importance of our partnership with the city of Pittsburgh,” Mr Al-Olama said.

Pittsburgh is home to many innovative companies focused on advanced technology such as artificial intelligence, robotics, cyber security and additive manufacturing.

Iron and steel mills, which gave Pittsburgh its nickname of Steel City, were the lifeblood of the local economy until about 30 years ago.

However, new technology is replacing the old industries in the city and offering economic opportunities.

“GMIS America will showcase Pittsburgh as a national and global hub for advanced manufacturing, serving as a perfect example for other cities around the world that are embarking on an advanced industrialisation drive for the first time,” Mr Al-Olama said.