August 18, 2021 | Infrastructure

Quality Infrastructure: Continuous Advancement

leadership

With the launch of the National Strategy for Industry and Advanced Technology (Operation 300Bn), the UAE has entered a new era of industrial growth.

It's an era marked by the integration of advanced technologies and Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) solutions across the value chain. It's an era marked by a culture of innovation and entrepreneurship. It's an era is set to propel the UAE towards the top of global competitiveness rankings as we invite the world to make it in the Emirates.

To further enable the success of this exciting new era, quality infrastructure will be crucial. Quality infrastructure is also a cornerstone of Operation 300Bn.

To further develop the UAE's quality infrastructure, the Emirates Authority for Standardization and Metrology (ESMA) has been integrated into the Ministry of Industry and Advanced Technology (MoIAT). Together, the bodies will work to enhance the role of quality infrastructure in enabling the national industrial sector, creating an attractive business environment for local and international investors and boosting the sector's competitiveness in local and international markets. This work will also help achieve sustainable progress across the areas of standardization, metrology, conformity, and accreditation in partnership with local and feral government entities and the private sector.

Enhancing the UAE's quality infrastructure will also boost the national in-country value created by the industrial sector. It will also encourages the adoption of advanced technologies in production and manufacturing - which is vital for boosting UAE exports to global markets.

By aligning the UAE's quality infrastructure with regional and international markets it seeks to achieve international recognition for various national systems including conformity assessment, accreditation and measurement. By doing this, the system willboost global competitiveness and spur innovation across different fields based on international quality and safety products.

Within MoIAT, the Standardization and Legislations Department collaborates with other teams to enhance the UAE's quality infrastructure. Its main goal is to improve the performance and productivity of the sector, while maintainting its quality, health and safety, and environmental standards. The department includes the standardization unit, metrology unit, and technical legislation unit.

Through technical committees and specialized teams, the department is responsible for issuing the UAE's industrial standardization, technical regulations, control and other metrology systems.

These teams comprise representatives from the relevant authorities in the industrial sector, commercial sector, service sectors, research and educational institutions, and government entitiesThe Standardization and Legislations Department helps facilitate trade between countries. It does this by ensuring the UAE's national standards are aligned with existing international best practices of standards to guarantee the quality of national products. It also oversees the UAE's commitment to the World Trade Organization's (WTO) agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT). The agreement was established in 2005 and  requires responses to inquiries made about technical regulations, standardization, conformity assessment procedures in the country, conformity assessment procedures and notifying of any regulation projects.

The UAE's industrial development posseses immense potential. And the infrastructure that supports it will be critical to fulfilling it. It can help transform The Emirtates into a regional center for industries of the future, from space to green hydrogen and pharmaceuticals. It will also help create a slew of new, highly-skilled jobs for Emiratis.