The UAE Ministry of Industry and Advanced Technology (MoIAT) has joined hands with the country’s Food & Beverage Business Group to launch the Nationals Development Pathway (NDP), a series of initiatives to boost the local food manufacturing ecosystem and promote food security.
“The Make it in the Emirates Lab is one of our strategic initiatives to promote public-private partnerships to provide best-in-class training for small- and medium-sized enterprises in the industrial sector,” Omar Al Suwaidi, Undersecretary at MoIAT, said while announcing the launch of the NDP. “Through the Nationals Development Pathway and its series of initiatives, we aim to enhance the competencies of the local food and beverage sector and create a vibrant manufacturing ecosystem.”
The Middle East Sugar and Calorie Reduction Programme was also unveiled at Gulfood as the first series under the NDP. A capability-building industry excellence programme, it features a series of knowledge sharing and training sessions and concludes with a practical session in the state-of-the-art lab offered by sector expert Tate & Lyle. Participating companies will get up-to-date information on the various innovations, tools and technologies, as well as learn practical skills and obtain ongoing support for capacity building.
“Our founding goal is to support the local manufacturing sector to achieve higher levels of operational efficiency and self-sufficiency, and in turn contribute to MoIAT’s strategic goal of promoting localized manufacturing,” Saleh Lootah, Chairman of the UAE Food & Beverages Manufacturers Group, said. “With the food and beverage industry identified as a strategic sector to promote via the Ministry’s ‘Make it in the Emirates Lab’ initiative, we are working to promote localized innovation and manufacturing across the F&B value chain.”
The UAE Food & Beverage Business Group enables the active participation of professionals, Emiratis and SMEs to support the food sector. The group has been working with MoIAT’s objectives to support the ‘Make it in the Emirates’ campaign.