Ministry of Economy heads 6th meeting of Global Innovation

The Executive Team of the Global Innovation Index operating under the UAE National Agenda has held its sixth meeting at the Ministry of Economy’s Dubai HQ.

The session was led by Abdullah Sultan Al Fan Al Shams, head of the team, in the presence of elite representatives from federal and local entities that are members of the team.

The group discussed the latest updates to the Global Innovation Index and available development opportunities. They also reviewed the work methodology for the next phase which will focus on formulating policies supporting an environment of innovation and the sustainability of the country's competitiveness in this regard to help advance the national target of becoming among the top 10 countries in the world by 2021.

The meeting emphasised the need to speed up several processes, namely those related to the collection of expenditure data on education and scientific research in academic institutions and the private sector as well as data on foreign direct investments (FDI) within the country. The growth of the UAE’s imports and exports due to advanced technology and the contribution of technology to the state’s total foreign trade was also discussed to complete related initiatives and plans.

Alshamsi said that the Executive Team is currently more focused on the policy aspect than the monitoring and data collection process. This is to keep abreast of international developments and to enhance the competitiveness of the country regionally and globally in such a way that ensures the achievement of advanced levels on the Global Innovation Index to serve the directions of the country.

He added that there are many initiatives and steps that have been developed recently to establish an incubating environment for innovation and creativity. He noted that these efforts mostly focus on small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and newly established innovative companies. Among the most notable are the Ministry of Economy’s efforts to collaborate with concerned entities that have members on the Global Innovation Index Executive Team to advance the ‘Young Innovative Companies’ initiative.

The initiative provides support for fast-tracking the establishment of new innovative businesses and enabling them to commence work as soon as possible. It also encourages creative university students to transform their ideas into marketable commercial projects by providing them with financing facilities and helping them with procedures for registering patents, licenses, trademarks and other aspects involved in establishing and doing business.