Innovative and future-oriented growth at heart of UAE planning
Dh14 billion annual investment in innovation, Dh7 billion goes to R&D
As the most innovative Arab nation, the UAE plans to be among the world’s most innovative countries by 2021. The country, a crucible of innovation brimming with ideas, knows what it takes to achieve this target.
As he launched the National Innovation Strategy, His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, said there is a plan to be “among the most innovative nations in the world”.
The strategy will stimulate innovation in seven sectors including renewable energy, transport, education, health, technology, water and space.
The first phase includes 30 national initiatives to be completed within three years. These include new legislation, innovation incubators, investment in specialised skills, private sector incentives, international research partnerships, and an innovation drive within the government.
In August, the UAE was ranked first among Arab countries and 41st worldwide in the Global Innovation Index.
The index measured the performance of 128 countries and economies on how innovation drives economic growth and prosperity.
“We aim to provide all the means and capabilities to meet the requirements of the government’s vision, and make it one of the best governments in the world … through the optimal use of resources to enhancing the services provided to citizens and residents,” said Shaikh Mohammad, after the Cabinet approved the Dh248 billion budget for the next five years on October 30.
Innovation got a big push in the 2017 budget through a Dh2 billion allocation to supporting government innovation, through the establishment of the Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Fund to Finance Innovation. It will provide financing solutions for innovators and incubation support to turn their ideas into projects that will support the national strategy for innovation and achieving the goals of Vision 2021.
Innovation is the path from an idea to social or monetary benefit — in effect, it encompasses the entire process involved in taking an original idea, improving it, and then developing it into a business, not necessarily commercial.
“This innovation strategy is a national priority for our development and progress programme. It is a primary tool to achieve Vision 2021 and an engine for the growth of distinctive skills and capabilities across the nation. We have always called for creativity in every field: this strategy is a concrete step to implement that vision. These initiatives around innovation will enhance quality of life in the UAE and take our economy to new horizons,” Shaikh Mohammad said.
An innovation-based economy will need to have the right infrastructure to create knowledge in the first place and then to diffuse, exploit and absorb the knowledge. In order to create knowledge, the UAE will have to focus on attracting new talents and innovation-based businesses inside the country, in addition to strengthening its existing local capabilities for producing knowledge.
The UAE’s founding father, Shaikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan, recognised the opportunity that oil created for the UAE but also quickly saw the need to diversify the economy away from a reliance on hydrocarbons. Today, non-oil sectors make up 45 per cent of the UAE’s gross domestic product (GDP).
Current annual investment in innovation in the country is worth Dh14 billion, of which Dh7 billion goes to research and development.
source: khaleejtimes
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