Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, 10 April 2018:  One of the world’s biggest pharmaceutical associations has part-nered with the Global Manufacturing and Industrialisation Summit (GMIS) to support its aim of har-nessing the potential of the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) to underpin the manufacturing sector of the future.

The Global Manufacturing and Industrialisation Summit - the world’s first-ever cross industry forum, committed to promoting a roadmap for manufacturing that echoes the evolution of technology, in-ternational trade, and global best practices - has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Farmindustria, Italy’s global leader in pharmaceutical care.

The MoU will enable the exchange of knowledge and expertise between the two institutions and encourage collaboration between the two entities in promoting the role of manufacturing in building a more prosperous world.

 It will also support the further development of the global pharmaceutical industry; a key component of transcontinental economic diversification which holds the potential to create new opportunities for employment and skills development while also generating social benefits.

Badr Al-Olama, head of the Global Manufacturing and Industrialisation Summit Organising Com-mittee, signed the agreement with Enrica Giorgetti, Managing Director, Farmindustria, in the pres-ence of H.E. Franco Frattini, Italy-United Arab Emirates Association Chairman, Liborio Stellino, the Italian Ambassador to the UAE, and Ahmed Hilal Al Bloushi, Acting Director General of the Indus-trial Development Bureau (IDB), on March 9, 2018, at the the Annual Investment Meeting (AIM) Conference in Dubai.

The MoU signing was held under the patronage of H.E Saif Mohammed Al Hajeri, Chairman of the Department of Economic Development (DED).

“This partnership will enable knowledge transfer and the sharing of expertise and insight between GMIS and Farmindustria in shaping the future of the global pharmaceutical industry by emphasizing its pivotal position on the global manufacturing landscape,” said Al-Olama.

“The deployment of 4IR technologies opens up potentially exciting and impactful new avenues for the pharmaceutical industry, and international collaboration of the kind that will be fostered through this agreement will advance the adoption of these technologies.

In addition, GMIS’ role as a cham-pion of sustainability and a driver of global good, and Farmindustria’s prominent role in the global pharmaceutical sector, will help to ensure that the development of the industry aligns with the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

“GMIS recognizes the economic and social value of developing the global pharmaceutical industry, and the role it can play in building a sustainable and diversified economy through generating new revenue streams.

Developing new applications and approaches to healthcare by leveraging what technology offers will bring clear and tangible benefits for the world’s population.”

Al-Olama said part of the mandate of the Global Manufacturing and Industrialisation Summit is to strengthen and expand relationships between manufacturers, governments and NGOs, technolo-gists, and investors – four cornerstone constituents in shaping the future of manufacturing at a global level.

“This partnership will also allow us to amass a truly global bank of knowledge and insight on manu-facturing and its transformation – knowledge and insight that will be invaluable in advancing our collective mission at GMIS,” he said.

“It is an honour for GMIS to partner with Farmindustria and together, through this partnership, we will drive home the message that manufacturing is important not only in terms of economic regeneration and sustainability, but in strengthening the fabric of na-tions.”

The Global Manufacturing and Industrialisation Summit was established in 2015 with the goal of uniting sectors and nations to transform the future of manufacturing through capitalizing on a new age of innovation.

A joint initiative by the United Arab Emirates government and the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), the Global Manufacturing and Industrialisation Summit  builds bridges between manufacturers, governments and NGOs, technologists, and inves-tors to capitalize on the transformative opportunities for global economic regeneration that 4IR pre-sents, and is committed to promoting a roadmap for manufacturing that amplifies the evolution of technology, international trade, and global best practices.

Giorgetti said: “This agreement between GMIS and Farmindustria reflects our countries’ commit-ment to forming partnerships that have the potential to create real-world benefit through generating new investment and jobs, opening up new skills pathways, and embracing, adopting, and capitaliz-ing on new technologies.

“We recognize that an industry capable of investment, innovation, and evolution, with the goal of increasing the effectiveness of availability of therapies creates economic, scientific, and occupa-tional value.

“4IR’s potential impact on precision medicine, personalized healthcare, and the development of tools that improve people’s lives makes it a source of innovation and inspiration that must be channeled not just through commercial opportunities, but also for the betterment of society.

We are delighted to be partnering with GMIS to ensure that this engine of innovation drives a future phar-maceutical industry that creates economic benefit, strengthens societies, saves lives, and contrib-utes to global sustainability.”

The inaugural Global Manufacturing and Industrialisation Summit, held under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Su-preme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, was staged at the Paris-Sorbonne University, Abu Dhabi, in March 2017, and brought together more than 3,000 leaders from government, business, and civil society, to advance manufacturing and industrial development on a global scale to identify trends and opportunities in technology and innovation.

Farmindustria – the association of pharmaceutical companies in Italy – pursues the achievement of a stable legislative framework and the development of policies that ensure the pharmaceutical in-dustry has a key role in building knowledge-based economies.

It currently has about 200 national and foreign-owned member companies operating in Italy, which, as of 2016, employed some 64,000 employees, 6,200 researchers, while the value of production was estimated to be €30 billion (Dh136 billion).