Sultan bin Saeed Al Mansouri, Minister of Economy said today that UAE sought to raise the contribution of the Industrial Sector in the gross domestic product (GDP) of the country from current 14 per cent to 25 per cent in 15 years.
After inaugurating a new coating line for Emirates Glass (EG) here in Dubai, he said: "The strategy developed by the state aims at strengthening the industry, based on improving the industrial environment and engaging on projects in specific industrial fields, such as petrochemical, food and value-added industries."
Al Mansouri said that the industrial sector in the State remained intact during the last three years despite of the economic downturn experienced by the world.
He also noted that the annual growth rate of the economic sector of UAE during the past two years stayed around three to five per cent, that confirmed industry's positive impact on the economy.
In response to a question "Why the industrial sector in the country was not affected by the global financial crisis", the minister stated that the quality of the existing industries in the UAE, such as petrochemicals and aluminum, has kept this sector away from all the possible losses as the global demand for such products were not affected during the last period.
Moreover, he added that the UAE's industries have opened markets in countries of Latin America, East Asia and Australia, that offset any shortage in demand from certain areas.
Al Mansouri noted that UAE is striving to raise the contribution of the Industrial Sector in the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of the country from 14 per cent to 25 per cent in 15 years depending on the circumstances of regional and global markets besides the investors' ability to invest in this sector.