Doha: Mohammed Al Mady, Chairman of Gulf Petrochemicals and Chemicals Association (GPCA) and Vice President and CEO, SABIC, highlighted the importance of innovation for the Gulf’s petrochemicals and chemicals industry on the closing day of the GPCA’s inaugural Research & Innovation Summit in Dubai.
“The Middle East and particularly the GCC is facing increasing pressure to secure employment for future generations…Recent history has proved that entrenched competitive advantages can fade and that there is little mercy for those who do not get new ones. Innovation has, therefore, become a must to deliver advantages, primarily in technology,” said Al Mady.
Noting that the chemical industry in the Gulf ‘started late in the innovation game,’ Al Mady said the region’s chemicals industry needs to find ways to gain a competitive edge over its competitors.
The GCC’s petrochemicals industry has already made significant progress in the field of innovation with 733 patents granted in 2012, a 36 per cent growth year-on-year.
However, regional spending on research and development lags behind Japan, China, the US and the EU, with the GCC spending only 0.8 per cent of the $49bn global investment in this area.
The Peninsula
