General Motors Welcomes UAE Ministry of Economy

This week, General Motors welcomed H.E. Abdulla Bin Touq Al Marri UAE Minister of Economy, and his team to their headquarters in Dubai, UAE to celebrate their longstanding collaboration and discuss ways to further strengthen the prosperous relationship. Luay Al Shurafa, President and Managing Director of General Motors Africa and Middle East led H.E. Abdulla Bin Touq Al Marri on the tour, followed by a detailed presentation of GM’s ambitious future mobility agenda.

General Motors has been in the region for over 90 years and specifically in the UAE since 1987, growing and building with the country and its people. By creating purpose-built vehicles for the region and employing over 250 people through GM’s direct operations and another 1,200 through GM’s 22 dealer network in the UAE, GM has been positively contributing to the economy and acting as a strategic partner as the UAE grows. Serving as a global hub for the US, Europe and Asia, General Motors has a purpose-built Middle East Distribution Center, which serves customers across the Middle East and Africa.

H.E. Abdulla Bin Touq Al Marri, UAE Minister of Economy, said that the automobile industry is one of the most important sectors of the future economy that encourage innovation and employ advanced technologies such as Artificial Intelligence in manufacturing. These developments have led to the transformation of the transport sector in general and the auto industry in particular – as reflected by the launch of autonomous vehicle and other modern mobility solutions over the past few years, he said.

H.E. further explained that transportation is a sector of great importance under the national strategy for innovation and advanced innovation and the UAE Vision 2021, given its role in driving economic diversification and enhancing the competitiveness of the business environment. He added: “Today, the UAE is a prominent regional hub in the manufacturing and trade of cars and their spare parts. Also, the UAE is home to a number of leading global companies in this industry, most notably General Motors. We are keen to strengthen the partnership between the government and the private sector to further develop this vital sector and attract quality investments to the country through it, in a way that achieves mutual benefit and supports our vision for the future.”

Commenting on the visit, Al Shurafa said, “We are honored by the visit of H.E. Abdulla Bin Touq Al Marri and his team at our offices. We have been working together for almost four decades and have gone from strength to strength. As we step forward into the next wave of technology, it is more important than ever that we work hand-in-hand to make our cities smarter and our roads safer. We at General Motors are committed to being a bold and supportive partner for the UAE government and the wider region.”

The visit concluded with Al Shurafa walking H.E. Abdulla Bin Touq Al Marri through General Motors vision of a future with Zero Crashes, Zero Emissions and Zero Congestion and the innovative product and service portfolio that will accelerate the brand, and the UAE, into the future. The UAE government has outlined some bold and ambitious plans to become a smart, sustainable and advanced city and General Motors is committed to being a bold partner to achieve this goal.