Ministerial Council for Services discusses government policy to encourage national products
The Ministerial Council for Services discussed a proposed government policy to enhance the competitiveness of national industries through a national brand initiative called ‘Proudly Made in the UAE’, during a meeting of the Council on March 15 at the Presidential Palace in Abu Dhabi.
The meeting, chaired by His Highness Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Presidential Affairs, and Chairman of the Ministerial Council for Services, also decided to refer the proposed policy to the cabinet for approval.
The policy prepared by the Ministry of Economy aims to support and promote national industries by giving the quality branding for products and services provided by national companies.
The brand initiative aims to unify the identity of the UAE's products, separating them from imported products and the products manufactured in the country that do not meet the required quality standards. It will also help increase consumer trust in the national products and enhance its reputation locally, regionally and internationally, apart from raising the contribution of the industrial sector in the domestic production index.
This policy is in line with the Federal Government directives and the UAE vision to diversify the sources of national income by developing the industrial sector and instilling the principles of green economy in the society. The policy aims to increase the responsibilities of national industries with regard to environmental, health and safety aspects, besides raising the Emiratisation rates in the manufacturing sector.
During the meeting, the Council also discussed the possibility of issuing uniform legislation that gives priority to products manufactured within the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries in order to encourage national industries to compete with imported products and increase their production and growth levels.
These regulations are in line with the economic agreement between the GCC countries which grants 10 per cent procurement preference compared to international products.
The Ministerial Council directed the Justice Ministry to draft federal legislation to establish settlement centres in the federal courts to be submitted to the cabinet in next stage. The council also highlighted two Federal National Council proposals to compile federal records of data related to property owners and trade liberalisation.
The Council reviewed the report of second half of 2014 on developments of the negotiations of free trade agreements between GCC countries and other countries, and discussed a number of other topics on its agenda.