Under the directives of President His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed, the UAE Cabinet has approved the establishment of the Ministry of Investment, and appointed Mohamed Hassan Al Suwaidi as the minister….reports Asian Lite News
The UAE Cabinet, chaired by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President, Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, announced the establishment of Ministry of Investment to develop the investment vision of the UAE.
Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid said: “Our aim is to develop the investment vision of the UAE, and promote the investment environment and the competitiveness of this sector in the country.” Mohamed Hassan Al Suwaidi will head the Ministry.
The Ministry will support the UAE’s business objectives, and investments policies and promoting its world-class infrastructure, as a global platform to attract investments in various sectors.
The ministry will be responsible of proposing the general investment policies of the UAE in coordination with the relevant authorities, in addition to preparing strategies, legislation, plans, projects and national programmes to promote the investment environment in the country and enhance its competitiveness.
The Cabinet also approved the updated UAE National Energy Strategy as a result of the accelerated economic growth. “The National Energy Strategy aims to triple the contribution of the renewable energy over the next 7 years, and invest AED150 to AED200 billion during the same period to meet the country’s growing demand for energy,” Sheikh Mohammed said.
His Highness Sheikh Mohammed said National Hydrogen Strategy has recently emerged as one of the most important types of clean energy. “The strategy aims to promoting the UAE’s position as a producer and exporter of low-emission hydrogen over the next eight years through the development of supply chains, the establishment of hydrogen oases and a national research and development centre.”
The Cabinet also approved the National Electric Vehicles Policy.
Sheikh Mohammed said the policy aims to build a national network of electric vehicle chargers, organising the market of electric vehicles, promoting associated industries to ensure lower emissions, lower energy consumption and maintain the quality of roads.
His Highness added, “We also adopted the first national preliminary approval for autonomous vehicle in the UAE for WeRide company. The company will begin testing all types of autonomous vehicles in the country, reflecting a change in the country’s future mobility patterns.”
Also, the Cabinet also approved a federal law establishing the Financial Stability Council, which aims to promote financial stability in the country, monitor associated risks, tackle and prevent financial crises, and develop proactive measures to manage and protect economic, financial and monetary systems in the UAE.
National Energy Strategy 2050
The UAE is aiming at increasing reliance on renewable energy, improving energy efficiency and promoting the use of clean energy. The strategy will support research and development programmes in energy technologies, in addition to encouraging innovation and investment in energy sector.
The National Strategy will work on strengthening the country’s capacity to provide clean and sustainable energy, raising its global competitiveness in the energy sector and consolidating its position as one of the most countries attracting innovation and investment in the sector.
The strategy provides new investment opportunities in renewable energy, supports efforts to strengthen cooperation with international partners to achieve sustainability goals in the energy sector, and constitutes a long-term national programme to balance meeting energy needs with ensuring the sustainability of natural resources for future generations.
The strategy aims to triple the contribution of renewable energy by 2030, to reduce the effects of climate change and achieve climate neutrality. The strategy’s objective is to achieve up to AED100 billion financial savings by 2030, and increase national energy investments between AED150 – 200 billion until 2030, in addition to raising the share of clean energy in the total energy mix to 30 percent by 2031.
National Hydrogen Strategy
Within the UAE’s initiatives and projects to invest in new clean energy sources, and as part of the country’s preparations to host COP28, the UAE Cabinet approved the National Hydrogen Strategy to support low carbon local industries, contribute to achieving climate neutrality and enhance the UAE’s position enhance among the largest producers of hydrogen by 2031, through 10 main enablers.
The strategy aims at accelerating the growth of hydrogen economy and enhancing the global position of the UAE among the world’s largest producers of low-carbon hydrogen, through developing energy policies, and attracting investments in this sector.
EV Policy
The national policy on electric vehicles aims to develop cooperation with federal and local partners as well as the private sector, to build a national network of electric vehicle chargers that supports the needs of owners of electric vehicles and regulates its market in the UAE.
The policy will contribute in reducing energy consumption in the transport sector by 20 percent, through the Green Mobility Project, in addition to reducing carbon emissions by 2050, building a unified database of electric vehicle charging stations and contributing to raising road quality and maintaining the world’s first rank in this index.
During the meeting, the Cabinet also granted a preliminary approval to the autonomous vehicle project for WeRide company that develops autonomous vehicles. The approval comes to support technological developments in the sustainable transport sector and to reduce carbon emissions.