About the Ministry

The Office of the Minister of State for Public Education and Advanced Technology oversees the R&D ecosystem and the adoption of advanced technologies across the board to enhance their socioeconomic impact in the UAE. It comprises two departments:

1. The Department of Advanced Science and Technology Policies and Programs sets and reviews national strategic priorities for R&D efforts and the commercialization of their outputs in the UAE. It also develops and monitors the advanced technology agenda for priority sectors, in addition to designing Fourth Industrial Revolution policies and programs for all sectors in cooperation with government and private sector entities and the UAE scientific community, represented by the Mohammed bin Rashid Academy of Scientists.

2. The Department of Advanced Technology Development and Adoption builds effective partnerships with entities in all sectors in the UAE and abroad. It also manages national projects and programs targeting the adoption of advanced technologies and Fourth Industrial Revolution solutions in the public and private sectors, higher education institutions and non-profit organizations. These initiatives focus on translating R&D results into commercially applicable products that contribute to the development of existing industries and the creation of new and future industries with the aim of enhancing the UAE’s competitiveness.

The Industrial Growth Sector includes the Department of Industrial Policies and Legislation and the Department of National Added Value.

The Department of Industrial Policies and Legislation devises strategies and policies that support industrial development in the country, sets out a framework for the regulation of licenses in the industrial sector, develops legislation governing industrial activities and production while overseeing the implementation of industrial law.

The Sector identifies priority industries for the National Industrial Strategy in cooperation with the concerned entities, in addition to addressing challenges facing industrial sectors, and encouraging national transition to new and priority areas. It also defines new industrial activities, issues industry-specific licenses, and grants concessions and exemptions for industrial projects.

The Department of National Added Value focuses on enhancing national added value and increasing local industrial content through designing and updating the National Added Value Program that promotes local products while supervising its implementation. It outlines the program’s objectives and defines and monitors its key performance indicators.

The Department also sets guidelines and templates for suppliers, accredits certification bodies, issues list of mandatory products, and develops the Made in the Emirates program. In addition, it links national added value with incentives that encourage industrial development and coordinates the design and implementation of incentive programs in partnership with government agencies and major national institutions.

The Industrial Accelerators Sector aims to develop the UAE’s industrial sector, enhance its competitiveness, fast-track its growth and drive innovation by establishing an enabling framework and launching accelerator programs in collaboration with relevant entities.

The Sector plays an integral role in attracting investment to the country’s industrial sector through the Investment Office that builds direct communication networks, acts as a point of contact between investors and public and private sector entities, and determines the requirements of investors (e.g. procedures for issuing licenses). It also identifies opportunities, events and other enabling factors for investors, as well as available incentives and financing in cooperation with Emirates Development Bank and other financing entities.

In addition, the Sector analyzes current data related to MoIAT’s specialties, reviews industrial trends, forecasts future developments that may impact the industrial sector and other sectors, and evaluates their impact on the ministry’s strategies and policies.

The Conformity sector is closely linked to efficiency and compliance in the production processes and product supply. Through its complementary role in developing policies at the Ministry, it ensures that production lines in the country apply best practices in accordance with the UAE and international standards, specifications and technical regulations in production and manufacturing. This may extend to the entire supply chain – from transportation, storage and sales to product delivery to consumers. It also sets out strategic and operational plans, and supervises their implementation.

The Sector prepares and updates the requirements, legislation, manuals and specifications related to metrology assessment systems, in addition to establishing and managing a recall system for non-conforming products in the UAE. It also coordinates the standardization procedures at the national and international levels to exchange information on products that pose risks to the environment, health and consumer safety and more.

The Sector establishes systems to monitor the implementation of standards, applies GCC standards and grants the Gulf Conformity Mark, develops and implements mechanisms and procedures for technical evaluation and conformity verification of products and commodities, in addition to conducting inspections of local and international factories applying to obtain conformity certificates and marks.

The Sector grants certificates of conformity to local and imported products and commodities after verifying their conformity to the standard specifications. In accordance with the regulations of the ministry and international organizations, it also issues permits to use marks such as the halal mark, the organic and sustainable agriculture mark, the environmental mark, and the energy and water efficiency marks.

The Sector works to obtain bilateral and multinational recognitions for the national measurement system from regional and global organizations, and implements measures to ensure the continuity of these recognitions and remove technical obstacles to product trade movement. In addition, it seeks memberships in regional and global organizations, represents the country at international events, and participates in committees and conferences on conformity validation and certificate issue.

The Standards and technical Legislation Sector is one of the most important sectors supporting the UAE’s industrial ecosystem. It is responsible for issuing national standard and technical and metrology regulations through technical committees and specialized working groups that include representatives of relevant entities in the industrial, commercial and service sectors, research and educational institutions, and concerned government authorities.

In addition to the development and implementation of standards and technical legislation, the Sector evaluates their impact with the aim of creating a secure and flexible legislative environment that can keep pace with progress in the field of future industries and overcome potential challenges. It also drives innovation, runs advanced technology initiatives and develops quality infrastructure in line with the country’s strategy.

The Sector helps facilitate trade and technology transfer between countries by harmonizing national standards with international best practices to ensure the quality of local products.

In line with the UAE’s commitments to World Trade Organization (WTO) agreements, MoIAT oversees the UAE National Enquiry Point for the Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) Agreement, established in 2005. As part of this mandate, the Sector responds to inquiries on technical regulations and specifications as well as conformity assessment procedures, and notifies WTO of technical regulations projects.

In addition, the Sector submits national standards to WTO for evaluation prior to accreditation and issuance, and communicates feedback from the Organization to the concerned authorities in the UAE to align the country’s industrial sector with the technical requirements for export to the other member states.

As part of the country’s quality infrastructure, the Sector develops national policies and standard specifications, technical regulations, and legal metrology and control systems to boost the competitiveness of the national industry, facilitate its access to international markets, meet health, safety and environmental protection requirements, and safeguard consumer rights.

Furthermore, the Sector is tasked with assessing the country’s metrology needs, upgrading legal metrology services, building local metrology capabilities and sharing knowledge to gain international recognition for the UAE’s metrology and standardization capabilities with the aim of enhancing the competitiveness and sustainability of the national economy, improving the quality and safety of local products, and raising the efficiency of standard implementation.