(MENAFN - Arab News) A GCC study on the industrial development of the region was released in Qatar yesterday, with the support of Qatar's Energy and Industry Minister Mohammed Al-Sadah and in the presence of deputy ministers of industry of the Gulf states.
The study, prepared by the Gulf Organization for Industrial Consultancy (GOIC), was commissioned by its Secretariat General after it received approval from the ministries of industry of the region.
"The study will help contribute to upgrading the infrastructure for the development of the Gulf's industry and also spread industrial knowledge," GOIC Secretary-General Abdualaziz Al-Aqeel said at the launch ceremony.
Al-Aqeel called for a system to organize and manage research, with a directory of Gulf research and development centers that will be categorized according to their field of research and services.
He pointed out the positive impact of the centers across the Gulf in developing and promoting industrial knowledge provided they were equipped with a network for researchers.
Strategic partnerships between the research centers and industrial establishments in the Gulf, as well as financing research centers by Gulf industrial establishments will also contribute to the process of developing industrial knowledge, he added.
A film on the highlights of the industrial study was presented at the ceremony, which included the range of sectoral industries and infrastructure. The film also focused on the industries that were absent and could be established in the region.
According to the study, investments in the Gulf industrial sector exceeded 220 billion in 2010, covering 12,000 industrial establishments.
The industrial sector, according to the study, provided over one million job opportunities representing 6 percent of the workforce in the Gulf market. According to GOIC, the size of manpower in the Gulf in the industrial sector is 10 percent.
The study indicates that most of the industrial investments focus on large industries represented by basic petrochemical industries, which account for 78 percent of the total investments in the Gulf.
The most important and productive industrial sectors in the GCC countries are basic petrochemical and metal industries, including aluminum and iron.
The study concluded that there is improvement in the scientific research atmosphere and global competitiveness levels of the GCC states in the fields of industrial development, infrastructure and industrial knowledge. The Kingdom, the UAE and Qatar achieved progress in research and international competitiveness.
Fields of research are in application research - 19 percent in environment, 16 percent in energy, 13 percent in communication and information, 11 percent in pharmaceutical and 9 percent engineering.
The study calls on research and development centers in the GCC countries to give priority to the targeted industrial sectors.
