DUBAI – The UAE industrial sector contributed 16 percent to the GDP in 2012, and is expected to rise up by 3 percent in 2013, Sultan Bin Saeed Al Mansoori, UAE Minister of Economy, said recently at the inauguration of Arabplast 2013, the Middle East's premier trade show for rubber, plastics and petrochemicals. He said the growth of the industrial sector was reflected in the strong contribution of petrochemicals and downstream products to the economy. Al Mansoori said the UAE industrial sector was driven by three key pillars: petrochemicals, aluminum and steel. He stressed the importance of plastics and petrochemicals industry as the UAE has made remarkable growth in the production of raw materials and in adopting best technologies and practices from countries like Germany, Austria and Japan. Al Mansoori said petrochemicals play an effective role in bridging the import-export imbalance between the UAE and countries in North America and Europe, as the UAE can give greater emphasis to export of petrochemicals. He added that the Gulf countries have invested billions of dollars in the petrochemical industry and what is required today is to export these products to the right countries. He also said that the UAE was emerging as a key player in exporting know-how to different countries in the world. Al Mansoori said that Gulf countries and the UAE have high potential to grow their industrial sector, due to high availability of the raw materials which can be exported to other industrial countries for converting into end-user products. He also emphasized that there were great opportunities for UAE nationals to work in the industrial industries in technical domains as well as marketing and sales and accounting. In a related development, one fifth of the UAE's tubes and pipes requirements are met internally and the UAE has built strong capabilities that has placed the country as a serious competitor to international companies in terms of quality and prices, according to industry figures released at the inauguration of the debut Arabia Essen Welding & Cutting, Tekno Arabia and Tube Arabia, the 3-in-1 show, at the Dubai International Exhibition and Convention Centre by Abdul Rahman Saif Al Ghurair, Chairman, Dubai Chamber. Satish Khanna, General Manager, AFIS, said with this big drive taken by pipes and tubes producers in the UAE, the country might reach self sufficiency at some time in future as well as exports to other neighboring countries in the Gulf and Middle East with lower costs and better quality. – SG
