The Abu Dhabi Department of Economic Development (ADDED) and Shandong Province, People’s Republic of China, have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to enhance cooperation, exchange expertise and data on an industrial sector front.

The signing comes as the two sides work toward further boosting investment opportunities and affirming Abu Dhabi’s unique market attributes.

Rashed Abdulkarim Al Blooshi, Under-Secretary of ADDED, and Wang Xiao, Deputy Director-General of the Department of Industry and Information Technology in Shandong Province, virtually signed the MoU.

The agreement aims to establish a mechanism for exchanging information to enhance industrial cooperation and facilitate delegation visits and investor meetings. It also seeks to organise entrepreneurship and management consultancy training programmes between companies on both sides.

Al Blooshi said, “This MoU with Shandong Province is part of our efforts to strengthen relations with Abu Dhabi’s major trade partners; China is one of our largest partners in non-oil trade, particularly in industrial materials. It also reflects our plans to enhance the development of the manufacturing sector and to keep pace with Industry 4.0, which is one of the strategic objectives of Abu Dhabi economy.”

During 2021, the issuance of new industrial sector licenses increased by 17% compared to 2020, with the establishment of new factories having grown by 15%, which is a testament to the efficient and evolved policies and incentives landscape guided by Abu Dhabi and ADDED.

Khaled Banizama, Acting Executive Director of Industrial Development Bureau, part of ADDED, said, “The Abu Dhabi government is forging ahead with its active diversification roadmap, and as such is actively engaging with countries and cities bearing specialised firms and transfer technology from heavy-weight industrial players, including capital-intensive industries such as petrochemicals, pharmaceuticals and life sciences, technology, logistics or SME manufacturing which towards mutually beneficial and sustainable business outcomes and projects.”

Abu Dhabi has built a robust yet accommodating infrastructure to support sustained and innovative investing, even in the face of the pandemic. Besides reducing business set-up and renewal requirements and fees, the ease of doing business environment in Abu Dhabi reflects the strength of the partnership between the government and international private sector players.

Abu Dhabi Department of Economic Development (ADDED) has recently directed commercial and industrial facilities in the Emirate to license warehouses of hazardous materials away from their headquarters as branches to support ADDED’s role in monitoring the movement of hazardous materials.

The Industrial Development Bureau (IDB) of ADDED, in cooperation with Abu Dhabi Hazardous Materials Management Team (AD-HMMT), initiated new procedures on licensing branches to store materials for commercial and industrial activities, which require warehouses away from their headquarters or business locations. Special requirements, in line with criteria and stipulations of regulatory government entities were introduced.

Sameh Abdulla Al Qubaisi, Director General of Economic Affairs at ADDED, said, “IDB targets 900 licenses practicing economic activities regulated by ADDED to achieve the objectives of AD-HMMT, which includes many government departments in Abu Dhabi. ADDED has issued a circular requesting all concerned commercial and industrial facilities to adopt the integrated system for the management of hazardous materials, which is an important element to monitor the movement of these materials in the economic sector”.

“AD-HMMT, including representatives from IDB, has directed stakeholders regarding the system via direct contact with the concerned personnel in the industrial facility. It checked 345 industrial facilities to ensure adherence to ADDED’s circular on the integrated system of hazardous materials management,” Al Qubaisi added.

“The team at IDB has supported the registration of 341 industrial facility in the integrated system of hazardous materials management and control,” said Nabil Saleh Al-Awlaki, Director of Environment, Health, and Safety at IDB.

“100 visits were made to concerned industrial facilities to ensure adherence to health, preventive and public safety requirements for all activities related to hazardous materials, including usage, transport, and storage,” Al-Awlaki concluded.

WAM