UAE tops Arab world in global innovation index

Abu Dhabi / WAM

The UAE has improved its standing in the 2017 Global Innovation Index (GII), topping all Arab countries and ranking 35th globally to improve six places from last year’s 41st position cementing its status as one of the world’s most innovative countries.
The results of the index were officially announced during a press conference held on June 15 at the UN headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland which was attended by Ambassador Obaid Salem Al Zaabi, the UAE’s Permanent Representative to the UN and other international organisations in Geneva. It affirmed the UAE’s significant progress in several pillars, the most prominent of which are ‘human capital and research’ as well as ‘creative outputs’.
This year’s 10th Global Innovation Index measured the innovation-related performance of 127 countries and economies representing 92.5 percent of the total world population and the vast proportion of global GDP. It relied on detailed measures of innovation inputs and outputs, including 81 indicators providing comprehensive insights on the various areas of innovation, most notably institutions, human capital and research, infrastructure, market sophistication, business sophistication, knowledge and technology out- puts, and creative outputs.
The UAE achieved a 6 rank increase in 2017, up from 41 in 2016 to reach 35 globally. Over the past two years, the UAE has exhibited a consistent performance by repeatedly ranking as number 1 in the Arab world. This year, the UAE also experienced the highest surge among the top 40 most innovative countries with a 6-rank increase. This jump allowed the UAE to achieve the highest percentage increase in GII scores globally with a 10 percent increase in ranking scores.
Sultan bin Saeed Al Mansouri, Minister of Economy, said that the UAE’s significant progress in the Global Innovation Index is the latest of the country’s successive achievements in various fields of development and global performance indices, which he said contributes in enhancing the UAE’s outstanding position as a regional and global economic destination. He added that the UAE has managed to maintain its lead among Middle Eastern and African countries in the field of innovation and has made significant progress in advancing its ranking among the fastest-growing innovation-driven countries.
The minister explained that the UAE’s success is largely due to the directives of the wise leadership of President His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, and His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, to include innovation as a key pillar in all development policies and strategic plans adopted in various sectors.
“The favourable result
reflects the effectiveness of efforts and initiatives undertaken by various relevant entities to enhance the UAE’s ability to attract and retain outstanding talents and key investments to achieve the ambitious goal of transforming the UAE into a global innovation hub,” Al Mansouri continued.
Over the period 2014-2016, the UAE displayed consistent performance in innovation inputs, ranking 25th. This year, the UAE improved even further achieving a rank of 23rd. This improved performance ranking is mainly due to better human capital and research where the UAE ranked 22nd from 41st from the previous year’s index, and market sophistication from 42nd to 33rd position. The surge in the UAE’s score and rank is also the result of significant increases in creative, and knowledge and technology outputs, ranking globally at +23 and +15 respectively.
Commenting on the commendable results achieved by the UAE, Al Mansouri said that the outstanding performance reflected by the indicators of the Global Innovation Index affirms the success of policies and the efficiency of procedures adopted by the UAE to upgrade its innovation system.”

“This”, he added, “realises UAE Vision 2021’s goal of building a competitive, diversified and knowledge-based economy supported by innovation and led by competent nationals.”
The minister said that the UAE Government has made continuous and intensive efforts to spread the culture of innovation and consolidate its practices, as it will be the pillar of the national economy in the coming decades. This, he explained, will form the basis of strategic economic partnerships in the UAE today.
He emphasised the UAE’s keenness to cooperate with various countries in the region and in the world to promote and establish innovative practices further in developmental endeavours, particularly by sharing knowledge and best practices with government institutions and the private sector to achieve the desired progress in innovation regionally.
Al Mansouri also said that the UAE Government has exerted continuous and intensive efforts in the past few years to spread a culture of innovation and adopt its practices. He pointed out that the National Innovation Strategy has been developed in an integrated manner through the creation of programmes, initiatives and frameworks aimed at cultivating an environment conducive to innovation and instilling innovative practices in government work.
“The close cooperation among the various government agencies and academic and private institutions has had the largest impact on the significant progress made by the UAE in the field of innovation,” he concluded.

Collective efforts consolidate UAE’s position in GII: Reem Al Hashemi
Abu Dhabi / WAM

Reem bint Ibrahim Al Hashemi, Minister of State for International Cooperation and Chairperson of the Federal Competitiveness and Statistics Authority while commenting on UAE’s ranking, said, “Thanks to the wisdom and guidance of our leaders, the authority’s team in cooperation with the concerned government entities has succeeded in working strategically to improve the UAE’s performance in this year’s Global Innovation Index, and in consolidating the UAE’s strengths as a key player in the global innovation system.”
“The fostering of a culture of innovation is the result of the successful exchange of knowledge and experience and the implementation of the best international practices,” she added.
The domestic credit to the private sector as a percentage of GDP moved from 65 percent to 77 percent, following last year’s positive trend. In the investment sub-pillar, the ease of protecting minority investors also increased 25 percent from 60 to 75 while market capitalisation improved from 51 percent to 53 percent of total GDP.
The business sophistication pillar, where UAE ranked 25th globally, remained high in the 2017 edition of the GII due to the Knowledge Absorption sub-pillar in which the nation advanced by 43 ranks. The UAE moved up from the 89th rank to the 66th rank in high-tech imports as a percentage of total trade as the latter improved from six percent to eight percent.
Foreign direct investment inflow constituted 2.7 percent of total GDP from 2.5 percent last year. The UAE also ranked 10th globally in research talent in business enterprise with a score of 61 percent.
Abdullah Lootah, Director-General of the Federal Competitiveness and Statistics Authority, has affirmed that the authority has provided significant data on trade in services and the flow of investments as well as other important elements to support the UAE’s exceptional performance on the global innovation index while taking into consideration accuracy and modernity according to international standards.
“This has reinforced the state’s data related to payment balances, performance, and innovation indices,” he added.
The Global Innovation Index is one of several key indices under the UAE National Agenda’s ‘Competitive Knowledge-based Economy’ pillar. It is overseen by the Ministry of Economy in cooperation with several entities, the most prominent of which are the Ministry of Education, the Federal Competitiveness and Statistics Authority, the Central Bank, the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation, the Ministry of Finance, the Securities and Commodities Authority, and the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority, TRA, among others.