A key event at the upcoming Global Manufacturing and Industrialisation Summit (GMIS) in Abu Dhabi will bring businesses together by facilitating matchmaking and showcasing trade opportunities throughout the manufacturing sector.

Supported by the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (Unido) and the Gulf Organisation for Industrial Consulting (GOIC), the Global Value Chain Market (GVCM) is a business matchmaking platform dedicated to increasing regional and international partnerships and opportunities, said a statement.

The platform will provide networking and sourcing opportunities both online and onsite via pre-scheduled meetings with the vision of forging investment opportunities, commercial partnerships, and encouraging technological transfer and know-how.

Additionally, GVCM will enable countries to identify and meet with global manufacturers to promote industrial development, and familiarise global manufacturers with targeted industrial activities in various countries, as well as becoming a source of valuable information for global investments, providing insights on legislation and regulations, sovereign risk, political stability, and physical and logistical infrastructure.

Held from March 27 to 30, 2017 at the Paris-Sorbonne University Abu Dhabi, the Global Manufacturing and Industrialisation Summit will bring together global decision-makers to plot a path for transformational manufacturing. Leaders from the manufacturing industry, business, government and civil society will focus on the transformational role of technology and promoting inclusive and sustainable industrial development at the summit.

As strategic partner, ZonesCorp, the largest operator of purpose built industrial zones in the UAE, has significant expertise in bringing companies together for major investment projects.  Its economic zones currently house over 600 manufacturing facilities that are home to some of the world’s leading industrial players in a variety of sectors.  

Saeed Eisa Mohammed Al Khyeli, director general of ZonesCorp, said: “The summit’s mission is well aligned with our own and we are pleased to be the strategic partner for the GVCM. ZonesCorp operates a unique ecosystem of companies that are organised into vertically-integrated clusters that bring upstream and downstream companies together. As such, we have a unique understanding of the value chain and efficiency benefits that can be gained from an integrated and collaborative approach. Using this highly successful model we continue to diversify and encourage new areas of manufacturing growth on our acreage, such as biotech, pharmaceuticals, agriculture, food and beverage and SMEs.”

The world’s leading event organiser, Reed Exhibitions, has joined the Global Manufacturing and Industrialisation Summit team as a partner to launch the GVCM platform, assisting the business community to connect and expand.

Ludovica Alcorta, director of the development policy, statistics and research branch of Unido, said: “Platforms that encourage and support open investment and opportunities, such as the Global Manufacturing and Industrialisation Summit and the Global Value Chain Market, are invaluable to the development of the manufacturing sector. They enable companies to successfully navigate the increasingly complex global market thereby enabling technology transfer and cross-collaboration, and routing new investments to different parts of the world. UNIDO has developed two distinct entities to aid businesses along this path – the Subcontracting and Partnership Exchange, and the Investment and Technology Promotion Offices Network.”

The Global Value Chain Market will also connect regional manufacturers with their counterparts from different countries, investors and international businesses. It will create exclusive networking experiences that will empower participants to establish new commercial partnerships, promote technological transfer and explore investment opportunities within the region, while enabling entities to work together towards setting new standards for sustainability and global development.

Abdul Aziz Al Aqeel, secretary general to GOIC, said: “There is a pressing need for a platform such as the Global Value Chain Market. The Middle East is ripe with opportunity for the manufacturing and industrialisation sector, and connecting key players in this crucial economic period that seeks diversification is imperative. In the GCC market, young businesses are pioneering new technologies alongside established powerhouses. Communication between old and new industries and across geographies will become key to growth over the next decade.” - TradeArabia News Service