UAE Official Calls for Boost to ‘Shameful’ Manufacturing Growth - Bloomberg
The global pandemic served as a wake up call for the United Arab Emirates to boost its “shameful” rate of manufacturing growth, a senior government official in the Middle East oil exporter said in rare frank remarks.
Like other Gulf states, the UAE relies on oil for income and has made some of the greatest steps in the region to diversify its economy. But at a panel on Wednesday, Deputy Prime Minister Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed al Nahyan said manufacturing had been overlooked for too long.
“We were a little oblivious when it came to the manufacturing sector,” he told the World Government Summit in Dubai. Manufacturing contributed 8% to the UAE’s domestic product a decade ago and has increased only 1% since, he said.
“This is saddening and shameful,” he said. “We should focus more on our manufacturing.”
“Today, we should know what pillars the country will need to rely on over the next years,” Sheikh Mansour said. “I think the manufacturing sector is one of the main ones.”
Gulf countries have ambitious plans to diversify their revenues away from oil and the UAE and Saudi Arabia have set net zero targets. Saudi Arabia, the largest Arab economy, wants to also boost manufacturing through Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s ‘Vision 2030’ economic diversification plan.
The kingdom is in competition with the UAE to make its economy attractive to foreign investment and this year signed a manufacturing deal with luxury electric vehicle maker Lucid Group Inc.
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