Mohaned Lafi, Chief executive, MENA – Four Agency Worldwide
Last week’s Make it in the Emirates was a good moment for an assessment of where the UAE’s industrial base stands.
The numbers and facts speak for themselves. The Barakah Nuclear Energy Plant is now providing 25% of the UAE’s electricity, carbon emissions free - one of the most significant contributions to clean energy generation anywhere in the world. Masdar ranks among the largest renewable energy companies globally, operating in more than 40 countries. It has delivered flagship initiatives such as the world-first round-the-clock (RTC) project proving that renewable energy can deliver reliable, 24/7 power at scale. EDGE consolidates more than 35 entities across defence, aerospace, cyber, space and homeland security, with products exported to 100+ countries. Abu Dhabi Fund for Development and Abu Dhabi Exports Office are actively extending that industrial reach into international markets.
The government and the organisations behind this work have made deliberate, long-term decisions about which industries the UAE wants to compete in and have built the capability to do so.
Our experience working across this ecosystem gives us unique perspectives on what this means in practice.
Localisation accelerates progress
The word localisation gets used in two ways across the Gulf. The first is compliance: meeting Emiratisation targets, reporting thresholds, satisfying a requirement. The second is something more structurally significant: the strategic development of sovereign capability in sectors that define long-term economic competitiveness.
Make it in the Emirates was a demonstration of that sovereign capability.
A recent whitepaper from Alvarez & Marsal, Industrial Manufacturing Localisation: A Strategic Imperative – Middle East, is useful here. Industrial ecosystems of this kind have historically taken between 25 and 50 years to mature. The research argues that Gulf economies can compress that timeline, by moving beyond assembly to develop genuine ownership of product development, engineering processes and international certification.
The UAE’s approach across clean energy, nuclear and defence reflects this. Barakah was built to develop Emirati capability in nuclear energy: engineering, operations, safety and knowledge that belongs to the country. EDGE was structured around technology transfer and home-grown R&D from the outset. Masdar has positioned itself as a developer and exporter of clean energy expertise, not simply an investor.
The communications challenge
From our work across these industries, one dynamic appears consistently. The capability being developed is real, technically serious and in all cases internationally significant. The challenge is ensuring that fact is understood globally with the same clarity that those inside it experience.
This matters for specific, practical reasons. Attracting the engineers, scientists and specialists these sectors need requires a clear and credible story about what is being built and why it is worth being part of. Securing international partnerships and investments, the kind that involve genuine technology transfer rather than export sales, requires the UAE to continuously be recognised as a global industrial player. As international scrutiny of energy transition, sovereign defence capability and industrial policy intensifies, the organisations leading this work need communications that reflect the rigour and ambition of the underlying programmes.
Make it in the Emirates helped focus that story last week. The communications infrastructure that surrounds these organisations, how they engage talent, how they connect with international partners, how they manage their reputation through the complexity of operating at this scale, matches the seriousness of the industrial work itself.
Internationally, that needs to be better understood and recognised. And that is the work that we have the privilege to deliver.