Wizz Air Abu Dhabi welcomes international travellers to Abu Dhabi

also announced the launch of a new electronic portal – invest.ae – that will act as an umbrella for all investment-related local entities and 14 state economic entities and present all investment opportunities across the UAE. The portal will also provide comprehensive information on the local investment environment, as well as business and bank account set-up services. It will also highlight entrepreneurial success stories. This electronic platform is designed to showcase the UAE to major international companies and unicorn companies (billionaire companies), and encourage major global sovereign wealth funds to funnel investments to the country. It will also facilitate the identification of investors unable to invest in their own countries, open communication with them and incentivize the transfer of their investments to the UAE. The Emirates Investment Summit The UAE will host the Emirates Investment Summit, a global summit that will connect investment funds with the public and private sectors to create investment opportunities that will attract AED550 billion in FDI over the next nine years. Scheduled to take place during the first quarter of 2022, the Summit seeks to build lasting partnerships between public and private sectors. National InCountry Value Program One of the key elements of "Projects of the 50" is the adoption of the National InCountry Value Program at a federal level, which will facilitate the redirection of procurement and contract expenses to the local economy. The program reflects the UAE government’s commitment to enhancing the competitiveness of the national economy, promoting domestic products and supporting local small and medium-sized companies. By 2025, the program aims to create a demand for local products and services by redirecting more than 42 percent of procurement of the federal government and major UAE companies to local products and services, gradually implementing the program through 45 federal entities and 15 major national companies, and increasing local suppliers from 5,000 to 7,300. It aims to contribute to advancing the economic and social development of the country by redirecting more than 50 percent of the spending of government agencies and national companies on purchases and services to the national economy by 2031. It will seek to raise the procurement volume from AED33 billion to AED55 billion by 2025 and to provide competitive financing solutions to local suppliers. Implemented under the supervision of the Ministry of Industry and Advanced Technology, the program will enable the UAE to reduce its dependence on imports in priority sectors, localize supply chains, support the national industrial sector and increase manufacturing and industrial output. The program will also encourage the industrial sector to adopt the advanced technologies and solutions of the Fourth Industrial Revolution to improve production capacity and elevate product quality. In addition, it will motivate suppliers and international companies to increase spending on research and development, increasing the competitiveness of local products. The program was first adopted in Abu Dhabi in 2018, and resulted in the redirection of nearly AED88 billion to the local economy, while the number of approved suppliers exceeded 5,000 in various sectors. UAE allocates AED5 billion to support Emirati projects To help facilitate the goals of "Projects of the 50", the UAE Government has announced Project 5Bn, which involves the allocation of AED5 billion to support Emirati projects in priority sectors. The AED5 billion is part of the Emirates Development Bank’s April 2021 allocation of AED30 billion to help accelerate industrial development, adopt advanced technology, and support entrepreneurship and innovation by 2025 – all to support its wider mission of increasing productivity, enhancing the industrial sector’s contribution to GDP and creating job opportunities for UAE’s citizens. Supporting emerging Emirati businesses follows a forward-looking vision to diversify the economy and improve competitiveness, considering that SMEs in the UAE constitute a major part of the national economy. Tech Drive to support Fourth Industrial Revolution in the industrial sector The UAE Government launched "Tech Drive", a AED5 billion programme to support advanced technology adoption in the industrial sector. Established in partnership with the Emirates Development Bank, the fund will support the industrial sector’s shift towards the applications of the Fourth Industrial Revolution over the next five years. It will also provide programmes and incentives to support entrepreneurs in the industrial sector, aiming to achieve a AED25 billion contribution to the GDP and raise productivity by 30 percent. Through providing the necessary financing for companies and industrial institutions seeking to adopt the applications of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, Tech Drive aims to establish an attractive business environment for local and international investors and support the growth of national products. The fund’s packages include financial and non-financial programs, direct and indirect lending, capital investment in emerging and small and mediumsized companies, and advisory and guidance services. Tech Drive operates as part of the efforts to advance the UAE’s economic diversification and industrial transformation.