UAE Ministry, ESC, Abu Dhabi DED sign agreement

The Ministry of Economy, the Abu Dhabi Department of Economic Development, DED, and the Emirates Scientists Council, ESC, have signed a joint cooperation agreement to reinforce partnership between the three parties to support the Technology and Innovation Pioneers Platform, TIP, and the UAE Council of Sciences to encourage national inventors and innovators to continue their creative work and contribute to increasing the number of Emirati patents.

The agreement was signed as part of the inauguration ceremony of the International Centre for Patent Registration by Sultan bin Saeed Al Mansouri, Minister of Economy, Saif Mohamed Al Hajeri, Chairman of the DED, and Sarah bin Yousef Al Amiri, Minister of State for Advanced Sciences and Chairperson of the ESC.

Following the signing of the agreement, Al Mansouri said that the three parties to the agreement seek to utilise their cooperation and coordination to support the innovation and entrepreneurship environment and increase the number of patents registered in the UAE.

This will contribute to the improvement of the UAE’s international innovation index and to work side by side to implement the economic agenda that is related to the technology and innovation accelerator in order to create a sustainable, balanced and diverse knowledge and innovation-based economy."

He added that the three parties focus on the youth and adopting creative minds by offering all kinds of support and encouragement through the 'Takamul' programme and the UAE Council of Scientists to instil a culture of innovation in them and enable them achieve their aspirations and highlight their creativity.

This is done by utilising the TIP platform which was recently launched to accelerate the innovation rate in the UAE.

The Minister of Economy emphasised the importance of investment in science, technology and innovation to create a sustainable and diverse knowledge and innovation-based economy, and pointed out that this cooperation with the Ministry of State for Advanced Sciences and the DED will help create a vital role in serving the international innovation index and assist the UAE to become one of the most innovative countries in the world over the course of the coming years.

Commenting on the signing, Al Hajeri emphasised the keenness of Abu Dhabi government on adopting and sponsoring innovators, inventors and start-ups by providing all kinds of support and encouragement with respect to patents, applied models, technology assessment, market values support and business incubators via Takamul, which was able to register 250 patents.

He added that this cooperation comes as part of the economic development in the Abu Dhabi Plan which aims to reinforce the role of technology and innovation in pushing the sustainable economic growth forward in the emirate and build an integrated economic system led by the non-oil economic development sectors that rely on technology and

knowledge. Al Hajeri went on to say that the TIP platform aims to support the innovation and technology environment in the country and encourage the growth of small and medium-sized enterprises to create an integrated innovation cycle in the UAE.

Al Amiri said, "We seek to achieve strategic cooperation and create partnerships in the field of science and technology to enhance scientific and technological advancement in the UAE toward achieving a sustainable development for the future".

"This cooperation will help us reinforce the efforts of the UAE government toward providing high-tech solutions for the challenges that we face in the various fields, which will in turn guarantee that the UAE will achieve a great competitive status on the international level through continuous work to support the young researchers and scientists and by means of taking advantage of the partnership and integration between the TIP platform and the UAE Council of Scientists," she said.