Inaugural GMIS America event in September seeks to strengthen UAE-US ties

The summit, which will be held in Pennsylvania, aims to explore new industrial opportunities and technologies to spearhead sustainable economic growth and drive partnerships

GMIS, a joint initiative between the UAE and the UN Industrial Development Organisation, intends to build bridges between manufacturers, governments, NGOs, innovators and investors. Ruel Pableo / The Show more

The inaugural Global Manufacturing and Industrialisation Summit America will be held in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, from September 28-30.

The event aims to explore new industrial opportunities and technologies to spearhead sustainable economic growth and drive partnerships between the UAE and the US.

The summit will also drive discussions on how digital technologies can accelerate the global energy transition and support the growth of sustainable manufacturing. It will convene experts from governments and the private sector to lead discussions that will shape the future of manufacturing based on Fourth Industrial Revolution technology solutions, GMIS said on Wednesday.

“GMIS America is the ideal platform to showcase the industrial opportunities we recently launched during the Make it in the Emirates Forum, which identified opportunities and incentives to attract industrial investors and manufacturers to the UAE,” Dr Sultan Al Jaber, Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology, and co-chair of GMIS, said.

“Through this initiative, we invite our partners from around the world to join us on our journey towards boosting the industrial sector’s development.”

The roadshow feeds into the UAE’s Operation 300bn and Make it in the Emirates initiatives to further develop the national industrial sector.

Last year, the UAE announced Operation 300bn, a 10-year strategy to increase the industrial sector's contribution to the country's gross domestic product to Dh300 billion ($81.7bn) and strengthen the Make it in the Emirates initiative. Both initiatives have the goal of transforming the nation into a manufacturing powerhouse.

GMIS, a joint initiative between the UAE and the UN Industrial Development Organisation, intends to build bridges between manufacturers, governments, NGOs, innovators and investors. The aim of this is to help to shape the future of manufacturing.

The first two GMIS events were held in Abu Dhabi in March 2017 and in the Russian city of Yekaterinburg in July 2019, with each conference having an attendance of more than 3,000 delegates from more than 40 countries.

The third was initially scheduled for April 2020, alongside the Hannover Messe 2020 trade fair. However, it was postponed and later held online owing to restrictions imposed to curb the spread of the coronavirus pandemic.

The fourth GMIS was held in Dubai in November last year.

GMIS America will explore critical topics such as global energy transition, future of hydrogen sector, decarbonisation, circular solutions for industry, scaling additive manufacturing, digital technologies and exploring how Industrial Internet of Things is disrupting production models.

“The GMIS America forum will provide us with the opportunity to showcase the Pittsburgh story to the world, while serving as a global platform that encourages cross-border collaboration between the US manufacturers, the UAE, and international players to shape the future of industries, create new value, and reduce emissions,” said Neil Weaver, acting secretary of the Pennsylvania department of community and economic development.