MoIAT signs pact with Abu Dhabi’s DED and Adnoc to boost locally made products

National In-Country Value (ICV) programme aims to localise supply chains and attract foreign direct investment

The Abu Dhabi skyline. The National In-Country Value (ICV) programme was unveiled in 2018 and brings together expertise from government and leading companies. Khushnum Bhandari / The National

The UAE's Ministry of Industry and Advanced Technology (MoIAT) teamed up with Abu Dhabi's Department of Economic Development and Abu Dhabi National Oil Company on Friday to boost support for a national campaign to promote locally made products and services.

The National In-Country Value (ICV) programme, which was first unveiled in 2018 and is overseen by MoIAT, brings together expertise from government entities and leading national companies to localise supply chains and develop UAE industries and services that can help to attract foreign direct investment and boost jobs in the private sector.

The pact, signed by MoIAT, Added and Adnoc at Adipec, aims to stimulate entrepreneurship in priority sectors and future industries through advanced technology and 4IR solutions, which will boost operational efficiency and the competitiveness of UAE-made products in regional and global markets.

Omar Suwaina Al Suwaidi, undersecretary at MoIAT, said that federal and local government collaboration on the implementation of the ICV programme is key to “supporting and empowering UAE industry”.

The programme offers several competitive advantages, including boosting demand for local products and services, as well as financial support and opportunities for partnerships with foreign companies seeking to benefit from a joint supply chain, Mr Al Suwaidi added.

MoIAT and Added will now work on proposing and preparing policies, strategies and legislation to promote Emirati products and local industrial output to boost the private sector’s contribution to gross domestic product and boost spending on research and development.

The ICV programme is one of the key initiatives of the National Strategy for Industry and Advanced Technology, which seeks to redirect more than 42 per cent of public sector and private sector procurement and service expenses towards local suppliers by 2025, helping not just their development but elevating the industrial sector as a whole.

The UAE’s efforts to encourage locally made products is part of a wider ambition to achieve self-sufficiency in the production of basic goods and increase the private sector's contribution to manufacturing.

Rashed Al Blooshi, undersecretary at Added, said the new agreement encourages companies and factories that participate in government tenders to increase their economic contribution to Abu Dhabi by enhancing suppliers’ contribution to national GDP, increasing Emiratisation and accelerating the development of a knowledge- and technology-based economy.

The Make it in the Emirates initiative also strives to help the country attract manufacturers and innovators from around the world and enhance the global competitiveness of locally manufactured products in global markets.

“Adnoc is proud of its role in the development of the local ICV program in 2018, which was launched with the aim of boosting our contribution to economic diversification, localising strategic supply chains, and increasing the private sector’s contribution to our socio-economic development,” said Abdulmunim Saif Al Kindy, people, technology and corporate support executive director, at Adnoc.

“Along with our partners in the programme, we successfully redirected billions of to the local economy and created thousands of private-sector job opportunities for Emiratis.”