"Made in UAE 2026" It is preparing to launch its largest version and highlights the country’s industrial flexibility

ABU DHABI, 28 APRIL / WAM / The “Make in the Emirates 2026” platform, hosted by the Ministry of Industry and Advanced Technology, in cooperation with the Ministry of Culture, the Abu Dhabi Investment Office, ADNOC, and Al Emad Holding Company, and organized by the ADNEC Group, will launch under the slogan “We Emerge Stronger” during the period from 4 to 7 May next at the ADNEC Center Abu Dhabi, to provide a practical model for efforts to enhance industrial flexibility in the UAE.

The launch of the platform coincides with the Cabinet’s adoption of a package of strategic initiatives and decisions to enhance the flexibility of the industrial sector and business continuity in the country and consolidate the readiness of the national economy.

The “Make in the UAE 2026” platform focuses on transforming these priorities into tangible industrial, commercial and economic movement, and provides the ability to learn about the integrated industrial system in the UAE, which includes manufacturers, investors, small and medium-sized companies, emerging companies, job seekers and the general public. It represents a strategic platform for expanding purchasing channels, concluding partnerships, securing supply chains, and directing impactful investments, which contributes to transforming strategic directions into practical results on the ground.

His Excellency Dr. Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology, said that the UAE, through the vision and directives of the wise leadership, continues to develop and modernize its industrial sector and raise its contribution to economic growth, especially since the industry plays an essential role in enhancing economic flexibility and ensuring the sustainability of growth.

He pointed out that the national industrial sector continues to raise the ceiling of ambition and move to a new stage, in which our industries transcend their local role to become a globally influential force, supported by exceptional flexibility and artificial intelligence that redefines the competitiveness of the UAE’s products and leads them confidently into the future.

He added that the new government initiatives establish a more flexible and sustainable national industrial model, as it is one of the most important engines of growth in the next stage, and represent a qualitative boost to the path of industrial development in the country, and provide a model for clarity of vision and consistency in the direction towards accelerating economic growth, and form an interconnected system that combines stimulating demand, providing financing, and enhancing decision-making readiness, in a way that supports the competitiveness of national companies, and enhances the flexibility of supply chains.

His Excellency pointed out that the “Make in the UAE 2026” platform will focus on translating this ambitious agenda into a tangible reality, as it has become a space through which the national industrial agenda is transformed into opportunities, partnerships and influential projects.

He explained that the fifth edition of the event confirms that the UAE has solid industrial pillars and foundations, and a model of industrial flexibility through reliable supply chains, national companies capable of expansion, and local innovations that create sustainable value.

He stressed that “Made in the Emirates” represents a platform for pride in the achievements of the national industry, and embodies a clear message that the UAE is moving steadily towards a more powerful and future-ready industrial phase, and is focusing on transforming the industry into a major engine for economic growth, enhancing the capabilities of national factories, empowering investors, accelerating the adoption of artificial intelligence and advanced technology, and expanding local manufacturing.

The initiatives approved by the Council of Ministers included the establishment of the National Fund for Industrial Resilience at a value of one billion dirhams, to support the localization of vital industries, enhance the flexibility of supply chains, and build strategic stocks in the sectors of food, manufacturing industries, basic metals, mechanical, electrical, chemical and pharmaceutical industries, advanced technology, and construction.

It also included expanding the scope of the National Content Program and turning it into a mandatory framework that includes federal government agencies and companies in which the federal government owns a direct or indirect stake of no less than 25%, thus enhancing the direction of national spending in order to support local industry.

A new policy was adopted to enhance the presence of national products in sales outlets and e-commerce platforms, starting with basic products such as bottled water, dairy products, eggs, fresh and chilled poultry, basic bread and baked goods, flour, locally packaged vegetable oils, and local seasonal agricultural products.

The Council of Ministers approved the establishment of the National Committee for Industrial Data Collection, headed by His Excellency Hassan Jassim Al Nowais, Undersecretary of the Ministry of Industry and Advanced Technology, to accelerate the collection, integration and provision of industrial data of strategic importance in a timely manner, in a way that supports the speed of decision-making and raises the readiness of the industrial sector.

In its fifth session, the “Make in the Emirates” platform brings together more than 1,100 exhibiting companies within 12 industrial sectors, and witnesses the introduction of new procurement opportunities aimed at localizing the manufacture of about 5,000 products in the UAE, while small and medium enterprises constitute 61% of the total participants.

The platform is expected to attract more than 120,000 visitors, including international investors, manufacturers, decision-makers, and industrial sector leaders from around the world.

Over the course of four days, “Made in the UAE 2026” will translate the industrial flexibility agenda, which was reinforced by Cabinet decisions, into tangible commercial results, by announcing qualitative national purchasing opportunities, and accelerating the localization of a group of vital products, in a way that supports the country’s goals of replacing imports, and enhancing the flexibility of supply chains at the national level.

The platform will provide a group of new industrial initiatives, along with specialized platforms to showcase the latest manufacturing technologies and industrial innovation, including robots, autonomous systems, and artificial intelligence solutions.

In parallel, these initiatives will support the establishment of an advanced quality system in the UAE, and empower entrepreneurs by strengthening partnerships, providing financing paths, and facilitating access to specifications, standards, certificates, conformity assessment systems, and standards.

The wide participation of small and medium-sized companies, which constitute 61% of the total exhibitors, reflects the success of the national trend in expanding the base of the industrial sector and enabling local companies to play a greater role in driving economic growth.

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