General

The Middle East Economic Digest reported on July 13 that economic diversification is an inevitable trend for the Middle East, and its over-reliance on the petrochemical industry is a recognized risk, weakening economic resilience and possibly hindering future growth. The oil industry contributes 24% of Saudi Arabia's GDP and 16% of UAE's GDP. Governments in the Middle East will need to decide which specific technologies, or even specific products, they want to pursue in the vast technology landscape, and provide sufficient support to attract global tech companies.

In recent years, some Middle Eastern countries, especially the GCC members, have launched ambitious government-led economic development plans to diversify and localize their manufacturing industries, seek to meet national and regional needs, and position themselves as export platforms . Among them, the three types of manufacturing products with a total market size of about 125 billion US dollars in the Middle East are more suitable for the development opportunities of localization in the Middle East. 1. Advanced materials such as nanomaterials, smart materials, and bioplastics; 2. Advanced components such as electronic semiconductor components and battery components; 3. Advanced products such as general-purpose robots, IoT devices, and 3D printers.