The UAE announced Dh171 billion ($46.56 billion) in aggregate deals including Dh48.5 billion worth of investments and Dh19.2 billion in financing during the Make it in the Emirates event in Abu Dhabi, as part of the government’s push to strengthen the country’s industrial base amid uncertainty driven by the Iran war.
It also unveiled Dh180 billion in cumulative offtakes over the next decade — adding Dh12 billion to an existing Dh168 billion pipeline, with plans to localise more than 5,000 products, the Ministry of Industry and Advanced Technology (MoIAT) said on Friday after the four-day event came to a close.
“There is a great difference between those who focus only on surviving crises and those who seize them as opportunities and turn them into new beginnings,” Dr Sultan Al Jaber, Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology, had said on Monday. “In the UAE, we do not simply endure hardships. We emerge from them stronger.”
The UAE also unveiled planned projects of Dh200 billion over the next three years and financing worth Dh19 billion amid a push towards industrialisation. Investments worth Dh48.5 billion were also announced during the four-day industry event.
More than 200 agreements were signed across offtakes, investments, projects, financing and enablement programmes, the MoIAT said.
New deals
Some of the UAE’s largest industrial conglomerates, investors, government bodies and corporates from oil and non-oil sectors of the economy signed a host of deals during the four-day industry showcase, which concluded on Thursday.
The flurry of pacts includes announcements from Abu Dhabi’s Ta’ziz, Mubadala Investment Company, Adnoc, Emsteel, MoIAT, UAE defence conglomerate Edge, Emirates Global Aluminium, telecom company du and PepsiCo, among others.
Among the biggest domestic agreements was Abu Dhabi’s Ta’ziz pact with the investment conglomerate Alpha Dhabi, aiming for $10 billion in capital investment in its new industrial chemicals ecosystem in the emirate. Ta’ziz also signed global offtake and feedstock agreements worth $28.5 billion to support chemicals production in the UAE and boost industrial growth.
Khalifa Economic Zones Abu Dhabi signed Dh2.1 billion in deals, while Abu Dhabi Investment Office confirmed Dh1.5 billion in support for new and expanded factories. Etihad Water and Electricity unveiled a deal worth Dh1 billion for a desalination plant, while Mubadala announced Dh4.5 billion in investments.
The Arab world’s second-largest economy also unveiled plans to enable Dh2 billion in annual food import substitution through local production, supporting up to 200 food factories and aiming for a 15–30 per cent increase in local production capacity.
The defence firm Edge awarded a Dh200 million contract to Abu Dhabi’s ECCI to manufacture and supply high-technology cable harness assemblies.
Boosting resilience
The agreements unveiled during the summit are part of the UAE government’s efforts to boost the resilience of the country’s industrial base in the face of geopolitical shocks and global economic headwinds.
In his keynote address on Monday, Dr Al Jaber said the industrial sector’s contribution to UAE GDP has climbed to Dh200 billion and that there is room to boost this further, despite the adversity the country has faced in recent months amid the Iran war.
“Those who manufacture, own their decisions. Those who build, own their future. And those who combine both … secure their sovereignty and resilience,” Dr Al Jaber told delegates at the time.
Industrial exports from the UAE have grown to Dh262 billion, including Dh92 billion in advanced industrial exports, he said. At the end of April the government launched a Dh1 billion fund to support the industrial sector and announced a national strategy to secure supply chains and boost local food, medicine and industrial production.
The announcement, just a week before Make it in the Emirates, set the tone for the industrial extravaganza. The UAE has prioritised development of the industrial sector, a central pillar of its economic diversification drive, as it reduces its reliance on hydrocarbon revenue.
The Emirates launched its industrial strategy, Operation 300bn, in 2021, to position itself as a global industrial hub by 2031. The country’s overarching agenda is focused on priority industries including chemicals, electrical, construction, machinery and equipment, food, transport, metals, pharmaceuticals, rubber, plastic and fibreglass, and wood and paper.
Procurement Opportunities
The Emirates, which in recent years has also invested heavily in advanced technologies and AI, set a new target for industrial procurement in the country this week. The value of industrial procurement opportunities in the UAE, Dr Al Jaber said, will rise by 7 per cent from Dh168 billion to Dh180 billion over the next 10 years.
As part of that push, the state-owned oil and gas major Adnoc became the first partner to back the National Industrial Resilience Fund. It signed an agreement with MoIAT and Emirates Development Bank to strengthen supply chain resilience and support local industries.
The UAE’s PureHealth said it has exceeded Dh6.33 billion in local procurement spend since joining the National In-Country Value programme in 2022 to support the local industrial sector. The number of exhibitors at the event reached 1,245 this year, organisers said. It also attracted 146,329 visitors, up 19 per cent on last year.
Other deals
On Thursday, Adnoc Distribution announced the signing of an agreement with Dtek.ai to introduce Swift, an AI-powered self-checkout system, at Oasis Adnoc convenience stores across the UAE. Adnoc Distribution also announced partnerships with Emirates Global Aluminium and Borouge, valued at more than Dh60 million, to support domestic industrialisation.
MoIAT also announced an initial agreement with PepsiCo to expand the UAE’s Future Industries Lab, to support SMEs and help equip young Emiratis with practical experience in the industrial sector. Abu Dhabi technology-enabled healthcare company M42 and Global Medical Supply Chain (GMSC), a unit of Mubadala Bio, have entered into an outsourcing agreement to strengthen medical supply chain services across M42’s healthcare network.
As part of the agreement, GMSC will manage a fully integrated supply chain model across M42’s network, covering sourcing and procurement, demand planning, warehousing, distribution and inventory management. The partnership spans pharmaceuticals, medical consumables, equipment and instruments, ensuring reliable and consistent supply across healthcare facilities.
Mubadala Investment Company also announced a partnership with Whoop to advance proactive health and preventive healthcare innovation in the UAE, anchored by its $75 million investment in the wearable fitness tracker firm.
Abu Dhabi’s steel and building materials manufacturer Emsteel announced six partnerships to support the advanced manufacturing goals of the UAE and decarbonise the steel value chain. Emirates Global Aluminium and Adnoc Logistics & Services also signed a high-level agreement to explore collaboration on supply chain resilience in the aluminium value chain.