Ministers from the UAE, Egypt and Jordan have met for the first time since the signing of an integrated industrial partnership for sustainable economic growth last week, to discuss a roadmap for implementing initiatives related to the new partnership.
The trilateral higher committee meeting was attended by His Excellency Dr. Sultan bin Ahmed Al Jaber, UAE Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology (MoIAT), Her Excellency Nevine Gamea, Egyptian Minister of Commerce and Industry, and His Excellency Yousef Alshamali, Jordanian Minister of Industry, Trade and Supply.
Ministers discussed timeframes for implementing the initiatives and how their performance can be measured. They also discussed during the meeting the creation of mechanism for the governance of the partnership, and the tasks of the higher committee and the executive committee to ensure the partnership’s objectives are met.
During the meeting, ministers discussed mechanisms for expanding the partnership by adding new members, accelerating economically feasible opportunities under the umbrella of the industrial sector in the three countries, facilitating cooperation and integration by involving more sectors, and coordinating with government entities and the private sector. The meeting focused on the importance of private sector participation and its important role in enabling the industrial partnership, which focuses on five sectors including agriculture, food, fertilizers, pharmaceuticals, textiles, minerals, and petrochemicals.
During the meeting, members approved the appointment of His Excellency Omar Al-Suwaidi, Undersecretary of the Ministry of Industry and Advanced Technology, as secretary general of the tripartite higher committee. The steering and executive committee will continue its work and meet next month to follow up on the partnership’s progress.
His Excellency Dr. Sultan bin Ahmed Al Jaber, Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology, said: “In line with the vision of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, UAE President, the Ministry of Industry and Advanced Technology seeks to enhance industrial integration with Arab nations and the rest of the world to achieve a major leap in the sector, locally and regionally. This partnership focuses on integration and leveraging the competitive advantages and the unique capabilities of each of the three countries. The partnership will be the nucleus of broader collaboration that contributes to building a more sustainable economic base for each member country.”
He added: “I commend the vision and support of the senior leadership of the three countries involved in this partnership. The professionalism and enthusiasm demonstrated by the teams from each country reflect our shared will to accelerate the implementation of the partnership’s mechanisms. We are all committed to enabling positive economic returns in the medium- and long-term, the necessary procedural steps, feasibility studies, the immediate implementation of projects, the adoption of an integrated industrial partnership strategy, and private sector entities to implement their own investment project.”
Dr. Al Jaber added: “This partnership reflects the UAE’s commitment to establishing quality partnerships regionally and globally in a way that enhances the UAE’s industrial sector and enables industrial investors to access global markets. Investors will benefit from the competitive advantages provided by the three countries, such as logistics, infrastructure, and the availability of raw materials. These advantages can help to ensure robust supply chains, stimulating sustainable economic growth, and enhancing value-added industries for the economies of the UAE, Egypt and Jordan.”
The steering and executive committee is tasked with connecting private sector entities with investors in five key sectors, assessing the feasibility of projects, creating a roadmap for the implementation of projects, monitoring challenges and enablers to stimulate investment, and identifying and enabling the implementation of projects.
The UAE’s, Egypt’s and Jordan’s set of resources and competitive advantages include raw materials, such as energy resources in the UAE, fertile agricultural lands in Egypt, and minerals in both Egypt and Jordan. These countries also have strong capabilities in the pharmaceutical sector with the possibility to develop and expand their production capacity. They also have strong capabilities in the fields of aluminum, steel, and petrochemicals among others.
