UAE industrial exports hit $70 billion as Gulf supply-chain push widens

Key Points

1. UAE industrial exports reached $70 billion in 2025, including $25 billion in medium- and high-technology goods
2. Sultan Al Jaber pressed for deeper GCC industrial integration at the bloc's 57th industrial cooperation meeting in Bahrain
3. Gulf states are rebuilding supply chains judged fragile, with advanced manufacturing and AI positioned as the competitive edge

The latest:

UAE industrial exports reached $70 billion, or AED 260 billion, in 2025, with $25 billion of that in medium- and high-technology products. Industry and Advanced Technology Minister Sultan Al Jaber used the 57th meeting of the GCC Industrial Cooperation Committee in Bahrain to push for tighter industrial integration across the bloc, framing it as a route to more resilient supply chains and higher product quality.

Details:

• The headline numbers: Industrial exports totalled $70 billion (AED 260 billion) in 2025. Medium- and high-technology exports accounted for $25 billion (AED 92 billion) of the total, a little over a third, which the UAE presents as evidence its manufacturing base is moving up the value chain rather than simply expanding in volume.
• The ICV figure: The National In-Country Value Programme has redirected more than $128 billion (AED 473 billion) into the UAE economy since launch. The programme channels procurement spending toward domestic suppliers, and officials link it to local company growth and supply-chain resilience. No annual breakdown of that cumulative total was given.
• The venue: The 57th meeting of the GCC Industrial Cooperation Committee was held in Bahrain. The committee’s stated agenda covers the competitiveness of Gulf industries and the uptake of advanced technology and artificial intelligence in manufacturing across member states.
• Al Jaber’s pitch: The minister said the aim is to build more interconnected and resilient supply chains and to improve product quality and competitiveness, positioning the GCC on the global advanced manufacturing map through Fourth Industrial Revolution solutions and AI as the global industrial sector transforms.
• Integration as investment: Al Jaber argued the UAE’s participation in GCC ministerial committees reflects a national approach that converts cooperation into investment opportunities supporting growth and expansion, rather than treating coordination as a purely regulatory exercise between ministries.
• The domestic toolkit: He credited UAE industrial companies’ technological capabilities to the National Strategy for Industry and Advanced Technology and the Make it in the Emirates platform, citing enablers, incentives, financial solutions and a supportive business environment as what positions the country as a hub for advanced technology industries.
• The invitation: Al Jaber invited GCC industrial companies to the sixth edition of Make it in the Emirates, running 3-6 May 2027 at ADNEC Centre Abu Dhabi. He said it offers Gulf firms a venue to secure deals and partnerships, exchange expertise and access opportunities open to investors, entrepreneurs and innovators.
• The backdrop: The push follows exposure of fragility in certain supply chains across the GCC during the US-Iran war, a vulnerability that has sharpened regional interest in sourcing industrial inputs from within the bloc rather than through longer external routes.

Between the lines:

The export mix is doing the persuading here. A $25 billion medium- and high-technology share lets Abu Dhabi make its case to Gulf partners on capability rather than scale, and the pairing of that figure with the $128 billion ICV total frames integration as a market other GCC manufacturers can sell into. Supply-chain fragility exposed during the US-Iran war supplies the urgency.

What’s next

Watch whether the GCC Industrial Cooperation Committee converts integration language into binding procurement or standards measures at its next session, and how many Gulf industrial firms sign on for Make it in the Emirates in May 2027.