UAE, 9 February 2023 – The Ministry of Industry and Advanced Technology (MoIAT) is collaborating with the UN Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) to organize the annual Industry and Advanced Technology Forum, as part of the World Government Summit 2023, set to take place between February 13 and 15 under the theme ‘Shaping Future Governments’.

Scheduled on February 14, the forum will bring together local, regional and international decision makers from the government and private sector to explore ways to facilitate international partnerships, promote the deployment of new energy solutions in the industrial sector, exchange industrial information to serve the global value chain, channel investment towards industrial research and development, and support the diversification of industries using advanced technology.

The forum aims to help integrate sustainability across industrial operations in line with the UN Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 9 that seeks to build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialization and foster innovation. It also aligns with the UAE leadership’s directives to pursue a sustainable economic development, drive climate action, and turn the country into a regional and global hub for future industries.

The forum will feature a panel discussion titled ‘Industrial sustainability: localization and international collaboration’. It will address the importance of adopting sustainability practices in manufacturing activities and building resilient local supply chain in the face of current global geopolitical tensions.

As part of the forum, MoIAT will launch a new initiative to boost technological transformation and enhance industrial productivity and sustainability in cooperation with UNIDO. It will serve as a comprehensive tool that will help industrial companies and establishments to step up their adoption of sustainable practices and accelerate the development and deployment of advanced technology in priority sectors in line with the objectives of the National Strategy for Industry and Advanced Technology, Operation 300bn.

Encompassed under the Technology Transformation Program, launched by MoIAT in 2022, the initiative will aim to unveil over 1,000 technology projects by 2031, increase the value of advanced technology exports to AED15 billion and boost the contribution of advanced technology to GDP to AED110 billion.

The forum will also feature the annual meeting of the Champions 4.0 Network, an ecosystem of leading local and international companies supporting digital transformation across the UAE’s industrial sector.

Champions 4.0 is a key pillar of the Industry 4.0 initiative that was designed to accelerate the integration of 4IR solutions and applications across the country’s industrial sector to boost manufacturing by 30% and add AED25 billion to the country's economy by 2031.

MoIAT will also sign memoranda of understanding with several local and international organizations and institutions to enhance and enable the UAE’s industrial sector at WGS.