His Excellency Dr Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber
UAE Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology
Message from the Minister
When the UAE leadership announced the establishment of the Ministry of Industry and Advanced Technology (MoIAT), it marked the beginning of a breakthrough in the comprehensive development of the country’s industrial ecosystem. MoIAT aims to keep pace with the UAE’s journey towards the next 50 years, and support national goals with a focus on future industries. It also seeks to increase the contribution of advanced technology to the growth of the industrial sector and raise the quality of products made in the Emirates.
To translate our leadership’s ambitious vision into reality, we started to build an unconventional ministry by devising innovative strategies and plans to spur a radical transformation of the industrial sector in line with the UAE Strategy for the Fourth Industrial Revolution. We pursue three main priorities: strengthening the UAE’s industrial base, creating in-country value and boosting the competitiveness of national industries.
We work to develop an integrated support system for the UAE’s industrial sector that provides incentives to attract local and global talent, expertise, entrepreneurs and start-ups. Based on our strategy aimed at stimulating the growth of the industrial sector, we will execute the most comprehensive 10-year plan of its kind.
In our efforts to enhance the country’s industrial self-sufficiency and increase exports, we focus on promising sectors of the future. These include space, medicine, clean energy (e.g. hydrogen production), advanced technology, electronic and electrical devices, pharmaceuticals, F&B, machinery and equipment, rubber and plastics, chemicals, and metals.
We aspire to build a world-class industrial sector through developing existing industries and creating new ones, to position the UAE as a global industrial hub and to elevate its rankings in global competitiveness indicators. To achieve our objectives, we have devised an action plan that includes restructuring existing mechanisms, implementing enabling measures, and adopting a flexible legislative, regulatory and logistical framework that facilitates exports and attracts foreign investments. We also intend to promote the unique benefits our country offers to the local and international industry and investment community.
Recognizing the important role SMEs play in stimulating creativity and innovation, along with driving socio-economic growth, our strategy targets the establishment of 13,000+ companies within 10 years.
Through our value-added initiatives, we leverage opportunities for the inclusive development of the UAE’s industrial ecosystem.
Operation 300bn seeks to boost the contribution of the industrial sector to the GDP from AED133 billion to AED300 billion by 2031.
Through the Made in the Emirates. initiative, we invite investors, innovators and developers from home and abroad to benefit from the enabling investment environment, facilities and incentives in the UAE’s industrial sector, and fulfill their ambitions through developing, manufacturing and selling their products in the country.
Minister’s full bio
H.E. Dr. Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology, Managing Director & group CEO of Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC)
H.E. Dr. Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber is a member of the UAE Federal Cabinet, Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology, and the UAE’s special envoy for climate change. In his role as Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology, Dr. Al Jaber oversees efforts to further expand the industrial development of the UAE, and in particular promote in country value, leveraging technology as a key enabler, as we enter the Fourth Industrial Age. The core mandate of the ministry is to increase industrial competitiveness and help drive economic growth by catalyzing the diversification of the UAE’s economy. The ministry will also enable better integration between industrial sectors, while embedding advanced technology at the center of the nation’s industrial base.
In November 2020, H.E. Dr. Sultan was appointed as the UAE’s special envoy for climate change, a role he previously served in from 2010 to 2016, while spearheading the UAE’s clean energy agenda at Masdar, Abu Dhabi’s Abu Dhabi’s pioneering renewable energy initiative.
Since 2016, Dr. Al Jaber has served as Group CEO of ADNOC, where he has led a rapid and comprehensive transformation of the company at the direction of the UAE leadership. Dr. Al Jaber has initiated a program of increased efficiencies, strengthened ADNOC’s overall performance and fostered a more commercial mindset. He has guided ADNOC through a number of strategic firsts, including entering the global capital markets for the first time, completing the first ever IPO of an ADNOC business (ADNOC Distribution) and attracting significant FDI from strategic and private equity investors to stimulate smart growth across ADNOC’s upstream, midstream and downstream value chain. In driving ADNOC’s 2030 strategy toward a more profitable upstream, more valuable downstream and more sustainable and economic gas supply, Dr. Al Jaber has also led a digital transformation at the company. He has prioritized the adoption of breakthrough technologies including AI, Big Data and Blockchain to ensure ADNOC stays ahead of global energy demand and remains a key contributor to the UAE’s economy.
Prior to taking on the leadership position at ADNOC, Dr. Al Jaber was the Chief Executive Officer of the Energy platform at Mubadala, the Abu Dhabi government's strategic investment arm. In 2006, while at Mubadala, at the direction of the UAE leadership, he helped establish Masdar, and served seven years as its CEO, guiding its global contribution to clean technology and sustainable development. In 2009 he led Masdar’s efforts in the UAE’s successful bid to host the headquarters of the "International Renewable Energy Agency" (IRENA). Dr. Al Jaber continues to serve as Chairman of Masdar, guiding its strategic direction.
Dr. Al Jaber also holds several leadership roles and advisory positions and counsels on issues related to Energy, Economics, Strategic Communications & Sustainable Development. In July 2020, Dr Al Jaber was appointed Chairman of Emirates Development Bank, a key partner in providing financial services for the sustainable economic and social development of the UAE.
Dr. Al Jaber is Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Mohamed bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence, the World’s first graduate-level, research based AI University. He serves on the board of Emirates Global Aluminum-the fifth largest aluminum company in the world.
In addition, Dr. Al Jaber served as Chairman of the Abu Dhabi Ports Company from 2009-2019. Over this decade, AD Ports has become a thriving business, turning a profit two years ahead of the approved business plan. During his tenure, Dr. Al Jaber oversaw the completion of Khalifa Port, Abu Dhabi’s flagship, fastest growing deep water port as well as Khalifa Industrial Zone Abu Dhabi (KIZAD), Abu Dhabi’s first integrated trade, industrial and logistics free zone. Through strategic investments, AD Ports has grown to become a full service transportation hub, leveraging Abu Dhabi’s location at the nexus of three continents, and making significant contributions to the UAE’s economy and diversification efforts.
Dr. Al Jaber served as Chairman of the UAE National Media Council from 2016 to 2020, where he led an organizational and governance restructure, while guiding the media sector’s development as a responsive and responsible contributor to news and knowledge sharing in the digital and social media age.
Dr. Al Jaber has previously served on the United Nations Secretary General's High Level Group on Sustainable Energy for All. He has received various awards including the United Nations flagship award "Champion of the Earth" in 2012, given to outstanding visionaries and leaders in the fields of policy, science and entrepreneurship. In 2013 Dr. Al Jaber was appointed an honorary Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (CBE) by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. In 2019, Dr. Al Jaber received a lifetime achievement award from his Excellency the prime minister of India, Narendra Modi, for his contributions to energy security, building bridges to emerging Asian economies and for reshaping traditional energy business models.