Vision Strategies, Economic Diversification Strategies, Transformation Strategies and Industrial Strategies. Regardless of what they are called, the fact is, they are of great importance, now more than ever.
Governments are under pressure to deliver for their people. In today’s fragmented and turbulent world, economic stability and a strategic, long term economic vision are paramount to give businesses the greatest chance of success.
This week saw the launch of the UK’s modern Industrial Strategy. An important moment for the UK but one that I think is also important to the Middle East region and the GCC specifically. Over the past decade, the countries of the GCC have outlined their strategies for long term development and transformation across a range of priorities.
Saudi Arabia Vision 2030, UAE Vision 2031, Bahrain Economic Vision 2030, Oman Vision 2040, Kuwait Vision 2035 and Qatar National Vision 2030 provide direction, certainty and stability, not just for their citizens and residents, but also for investors, trading partners, and visitors.
Growth through investment
The UK’s thriving economy is anchored by a secure and stable government. Our modern Industrial Strategy is our 10 year blueprint to drive forward the UK’s growth agenda. Investment is at the heart of our strategy, and this investment will come from the UK government as well as from businesses both in the UK and overseas.
Government investment will be aimed at ensuring businesses in our growth driving sectors fulfil their potential, adding exponential value to our economy and with it, economic growth.
This foundational support will make it quicker, easier and cheaper for companies to do business, giving them the stability to make long term investment decisions. In turn, these companies – many of which will be in frontier industries, from agritech to advanced materials and AI to quantum technologies – will expand and grow, exporting overseas and seeking investment to innovate further.
Key policies we are putting in place will appeal to investors and partners in the Middle East and Pakistan.
Policies like boosting R&D spending – to £22.6 billion per year by 2029-30; enhancing investor support – providing our largest and most strategically aligned investors with access to more tailored support through the newly expanded Office for Investment; unlocking billions in finance for innovative business, especially for start-ups and scale-ups.
Quicker, easier and more profitable
Indeed, our modern Industrial Strategy is international from the start. We want to make it easier and quicker for international firms to do business in the UK and with the UK. Our Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said the UK will be ‘the best state partner for enterprise anywhere in the world.’
We will continue to champion free and fair trade as a route to prosperity. And we will deepen our economic collaboration with international partners, building on recent trade agreements with India, the US and the EU, and working towards a Free Trade Agreement with the GCC.
Our eight growth driving sectors have been chosen because they are the sectors that will fuel the economy of the future: Advanced Manufacturing, Clean Energy Industries, Creative Industries, Defense, Digital & Technologies, Financial Services, Life Sciences and Professional & Business Services.
Not a zero-sum game
As governments, it is right that we prioritize the economic wellbeing of our own citizens. The UK government does, as do the governments of the Gulf. But this is not a zero-sum game, and winning doesn’t require others to lose.
Our strategic sectors are also priorities for countries in the GCC and wider region. Just look at the remarkable transformation in Saudi Arabia and the exponential growth in the UAE as they strive towards their Vision strategies. Shared priorities create room for collaboration, especially in innovative sectors where together, British companies and those from the region create products and services that are greater than the sum of their parts. This is already happening across the GCC, in sectors as diverse and agritech, graphene and waste to energy.
Today, we live in a volatile world where global trade is impacted by war and protectionism. Economic stability and a commitment to open, connected, free and fair trade are often elusive. But I believe that both the UK and the countries of the GCC offer this stability, this commitment. And I’m confident that by working together we can weather the storm and come out with deeper, stronger and more meaningful trade and investment ties.
The UK’s enduring strengths, embodied in our modern Industrial Strategy, complement the region’s Vision strategies. They give our businesses and our people not just the end goal, but a clear and strategic roadmap to get there.
These strategies matter today if we are to achieve a more prosperous future tomorrow.
