The UAE pays great attention to the industrial sector, and offers an exceptional support system with a range of incentive and strategic advantages that has enhanced its attractiveness to regional and international investors. As part of the national "Projects of the 50" initiative, the Ministry of Industry and Advanced Technology launched the Industry 4.0 program, which will elevate this support further. The program is designed to raise the competitiveness and sustainability of the industrial sector, increase its production capacity and product quality and, in doing so, consolidate the position of the UAE as a global leader in the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR)

Industry 4.0 is in line with the vision of our leadership to make the UAE one of the most advanced countries in the industrial sector. It is seeking to raise the level of industrial productivity by 30 percent and add AED25 billion to the national economy over the next decade

Enabling the digital and technical transformation of our institutions in line with the ten principles of the 50, which will guide the nation's growth over the next 50 years. It is our belief that this industrial superiority will define our development, reset our economic limits and establish the country as a global capital for talent, enterprises and investments. We are determined to make the UAE the capital of the future

The implementation of the "Industry 4.0" program will kick-start our efforts to accelerate the integration of advanced technologies and the concepts of the Fourth Industrial Revolution in our industrial and service institutions. Operating on multiple levels, the program will be delivered through three qualitative initiatives: the "Smart Industry Readiness Index", the "Champions 4.0 Network",  and the "Leadership 4.0" program. Supporting these programs is a financing package of AED5 billion that will assist companies on their digital transformation journeys

The UAE's adoption of Smart Industry Readiness Index was announced at the Global Manufacturing and Industrialisation Summit (GMIS), which was hosted by the UAE at Expo 2020 Dubai. Approved by the World Economic Forum as a global standard for Industry 4.0, the index will assess the digital maturity of our industrial companies and then develop customized roadmaps to adopt 4IR technologies in line with their capabilities, helping them to increase productivity and raise the level of operational efficiency. We have already finished evaluating 100 industrial companies in the UAE, with plans to evaluate a total of 200 by mid-2022

The Ministry will be working to implement Industry 4.0 through the "Champions 4.0 Network", a group of 12 national and multinational companies that are leading the development and adoption of advanced technology. These companies will showcase the successful uses of fourth-generation technologies in industry and, through field and virtual visits and working sessions, transfer knowledge and implementation advice to emerging, small and medium-sized companies in the industrial sector. The network includes leading national companies in technology adoption such as ADNOC, EDGE, and Emirates Global Aluminium, as well as leading international technology companies such as Siemens, Microsoft, Cisco, Honeywell, Unilever, Ericsson, Schneider Electric, SAP, and Aviva

We are also implementing the "Leadership 4.0" program, which is a first-of-its-kind training program for senior executives on the principles and uses of the Fourth Industrial Revolution in the industrial sector. The program has been designed in cooperation with the Mohamed bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence (MBZUAI), and will train more than 100 executives in the industrial sector before the end of 2022. The Ministry, in cooperation with the university, organized the first training workshop under the title "Industry 4.0 and Artificial Intelligence for Industrial Leaders" in the presence of 30 representatives from government entities and senior leaders from leading industrial institutions in the UAE

This integrated program will be supported by a package of financing solutions provided by the Emirates Development Bank, the strategic partner of the Ministry. The bank will provide a financing package of AED5 billion to support the shift towards the applications of the Fourth Industrial Revolution in the UAE industrial sector, as well as provide programs and incentives to support entrepreneurs and small and medium-sized companies, in addition to feasibility studies and protection from risks

The project also includes attracting and developing 500 national companies that will be among the companies supplying the technologies of the Fourth Industrial Revolution over the next ten years. It will also seek to transform 100 SMEs into leading national companies in the adoption of 4IR technologies

Taken together, Industry 4.0 is an integrated vision to enhance the in-country value of the industrial sector, transform the UAE into a regional and global center for future industries, enhance UAE industrial exports to global markets, and make the UAE among the top ten countries globally in terms of the uses of the Fourth Industrial Revolution and a major exporting country

These bold national ambitions are just the beginning, but they provide a cornerstone for the transformation of the UAE's industrial sector over the next ten years, and we couldn't be more excited to embark on this journey now