UAE up two places in Global Innovation Index

Dubai - UAE only GCC nation ranking among top 50 at 34th

The UAE has enhanced its standing in this year's edition of the Global Innovation Index (GII) jumping two positions to rank 34th globally, while retaining its place among the top three innovative economies in the Northern Africa and Western Asia region.
The rankings of GII 2020 is topped by Switzerland, Sweden, the US, the UK and the Netherlands. India moved up four places to 48th, keeping the top position among the nations in central and southern Asia.
The UAE is the only GCC country ranking among the top 50 in the GII, followed by Saudi Arabia at a distant 66 position.
Some highlights contained in the GII 2020 study include the findings that the US "hosts the largest number [25] of top science and technology clusters in the world" while seven European countries rank the top 10 of the GII as Switzerland has topped the ranking for the last 10 years in a row.
While India is "the third most innovative lower middle-income economy in the world," Sweden stands out for "a solid human capital and research system, coupled with a sophisticated market with innovative firms" and South Africa ranks "first in market capitalization and ninth in domestic credit to the private sector."
Over the years, China, Vietnam, India and the Philippines are the economies with the most significant progress in their GII innovation ranking over time. All four are now in the top 50.
The UAE ranks 22nd on the innovation input sub-index, a two-rank increase from 2019, and surpassing countries such as Iceland, Luxembourg, China, Spain and Russia. The UAE also improved on the innovation output sub-index, ranking 55th, a three-rank increase from its rank in 2019.
Abdullah bin Touq Al Mari, UAE Minister of Economy, said the nation's continued improved performance in the index is a result of a long-term vision adopted by the country over the past years.   
"Today we have an advanced innovation-incubating environment, achieved by pioneering legislation and institutional development. Our efforts to promote innovation further will continue in the long-term and today, in light of the changes posed by and the impact of the pandemic, the importance of these efforts has increased. Innovation will play a fundamental role in accelerating the wheel of growth and overcoming various economic challenges. The Ministry of Economy is working today, in cooperation with its partners, to implement a flexible package and a general plan of 33 initiatives to support various economic sectors. This is an integrated plan whose objectives are not limited to supporting economic activities and businesses, but through which we will work to build a more flexible and innovative economic model and to launch a long-term development path for the UAE economy," said Al Mari.
Dr Ahmed bin Abdullah Humaid Belhoul Al Falasi, Minister of State for Entrepreneurship and Small and Medium Enterprises and the Minister-in-Charge of Tourism, said SMEs play a pivotal role in developing an innovative environment as they are the engines of sustainable and knowledge-based economic growth.
"The UAE's GII 2020 positive performance reflects the government's efforts to enhance the innovation ecosystem, improve intellectual property management, and increase investment in innovative projects, among other initiatives carried out in the last year.  However, in the coming phase, the Ministry of Economy and its partners will work on launching a new phase of initiatives to increase SME capabilities, enable national entrepreneurship, and encourage start-ups and businesses operating in innovation and technology related sectors."
"Our plans also include stimulating the application of innovation in vital sectors such as tourism in efforts to increase the sectors' competitiveness, develop its services, and enhance its contribution to the UAE's gross domestic product. All these efforts will provide a strong foundation for the UAE's future economy," added Dr Al Falasi.
Dr Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi, in his capacity at the Ministry of Economy as Minister of State for Foreign Trade and the Minister responsible for retaining and attracting talent, said foreign trade and investment are pivotal factors in fostering global innovation as trade of creative goods and high-tech products, investment growth in value-added projects, and the cross-border implementation of research and development projects all contribute to the knowledge base of the economy, consistently generating new and innovative ideas.
"The Ministry of Economy, along with its partners, has long been working on improving all three of these elements within the UAE. Looking forward, we will continue building on these efforts during the next phase, especially within the framework of implementing the flexible 33-initative package, which includes initiatives designed to accelerate the implementation of the positive list of the foreign direct investment law in order to increase quality investment attraction, to encourage investment in the digital and fourth industrial revolution sectors, and to facilitate and increase trade via innovative platforms," said Dr Al Zeyoudi.
Hussain bin Ibrahim Al Hammadi, UAE Minister of Education, said his ministry has implemented many initiatives and reforms to improve the education and research climate in the UAE over the years.
"This has led to significant improvements in critical education indicators such as school life expectancy, graduates in science and engineering, R&D expenditures, and the prevalence of research talent in business enterprises, all of which have increased significantly in a short span."
Al Hammadi clarified that now more than ever in light of the current pandemic the Ministry of Education is working on fostering innovation among UAE's youth - preparing them for a vastly different post-Covid future - by leveraging new technologies and cooperating with international universities and research institutions to enable Emirati entrepreneurship and future skills development.  
Nasser bin Thani Juma Al Hamli, UAE Minister of Human Resources and Emiratisation, said strengthening labour market resilience is among the priorities of the ministry based on its commitment to contribute to the efforts made to enhance the competitiveness of the state.
"By implementing policies and initiatives, in cooperation with its partners in the federal and local government sectors as well as the private sector, aimed at training and employing national cadres and reducing the cost of transferring competencies and global expertise between institutions and companies, the ministry thus aims on optimising the investment of manpower in the labour market in a way that both meets market needs and contributes to achieving national goals."  
Obaid Humaid Al Tayer, UAE Minister of State for Financial Affairs, the ministry is keen to provide all possible support to achieve the vision of the UAE government in becoming among the most innovative governments in the world by 2021.
"In this context, the ministry continues to work closely with various government and private stakeholders to launch initiatives, strategies and programmes aimed at advancing innovation and creativity across all fields. To this extent, the ministry launched the Mohammed bin Rashid Innovation Fund which aims to provide the necessary financing solutions for innovators, entrepreneurs and companies, and to provide specialised services to develop and accelerate their work in a way that continuously contributes to achieving the UAE's innovation goals and direction as well as its contribution to economic growth."
Abdulla Nasser Lootah, director-general of the Federal Competitiveness and Statistics Authority, said the authority continues its efforts in enhancing the UAE's data governance mechanisms and infrastructure, as well as collecting timely and accurate data, aiming to provide stakeholders with the most accurate indicators that reflect the UAE's competitiveness, especially with respect to its innovation ecosystem.
"These efforts have led to improvements of the UAE's standing on international reports. Our team continues to monitor international standards and scientific methodologies for data collection and assessment," said Lootah.
Hamad Obaid Al Mansoor, director-general of the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority, said the importance of the information and communications technology sector has been significantly highlighted in the wake of the Covid-19 crisis, which has pushed for digital channels for life continuity.
"We, in the UAE, have succeeded, thanks to the insightful vision of our wise leadership, in achieving a smooth and rapid transition towards a digital model based on remote work, distance learning, and the provision of government and non-government services through non-traditional channels, leveraging the already existing advanced ICT infrastructure, and the cumulative development in digital transformation programs, as the UAE has entered the era of e-government early in 2001."
"The UAE is currently a global leader in ICT based digital development, with some of the most developed service provision channels, and based on its regulatory and enabling role in the field of communications and digital transformation, TRA has been keen to secure all requirements for readiness and leadership to serve the highest goals of our beloved country. We will thus continue our efforts through comprehensive partnership with the relevant government entities, and cooperation between the public and private sectors, to establish a digital knowledge society and economy based on the concepts of innovation, creativity, and the Fourth Industrial Revolution," said Al Mansoor.
Dr Obaid Al Zaabi, CEO of the Securities and Commodities Authority, said the SCA is committed to supporting the National Agenda Team members in their efforts to foster a culture of innovation in the UAE.
"Therefore, SCA is continually working on the development of investments and capital markets regulations to advance the nation's finance and investment ecosystem, which plays a vital role in bringing innovations and ideas to the financial market. In particular, having an advanced venture capital ecosystem will increase the number of venture capital deals as well as develop a well-functioning equity market, which are both paramount in helping entrepreneurs and businesses to finance their growth plans and to sustain the production volume of products and services."
- issacjohn@khaleejtimes.com