The Abu Dhabi Department of Economic Development, ADDED, and the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company, ADNOC, today signed a Memorandum of Understanding, MoU, to enhance cooperation and drive in-country value, ICV, for Abu Dhabi following the success of ADNOC’s ICV programme.

Under the terms of the agreement, ADDED will integrate and standardise ADNOC’s ICV certification programme across the Abu Dhabi Government’s procurement process. This extends the impact and reach of the ICV initiative, which ADNOC developed to strengthen the spill-over economic impact across the UAE.

Following this agreement, businesses can make a one-time application for a unified ICV certificate that will now be applicable for the Abu Dhabi Government’s commercial evaluation process of goods and services procurement.

H.H. Sheikh Khalid bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Member of the Abu Dhabi Executive Council and Chairman of the Abu Dhabi Executive Office, was present during the signing ceremony.

The MoU was signed by Dr. Sultan bin Ahmad Sultan Al Jaber, Minister of State and ADNOC Group CEO, and Mohammed Ali Al Shorafa Al Hammadi, ADDED Chairman.

Part of ADDED’s Ghadan 21 initiatives, this new cooperation will enhance localisation measures in the emirate, improve transparency, create jobs and accelerate the private sector’s contribution to economic development in Abu Dhabi Commenting on the agreement, Dr. Sultan Al Jaber said, "We are very pleased to be partnering with ADDED to further drive In-Country Value for Abu Dhabi, in line with the wise vision of the leadership and the goals of Ghadan 21. This agreement builds on the success of ADNOC’s ICV programme over the last two years, which underpins our commitment to create, unlock and maximise value for the UAE as we deliver our 2030 strategy."

"Our partnership with ADDED to unify the process and standards for ICV certification will deepen the impact of the ICV initiative we launched, driving economic diversification and further catalysing the UAE and Abu Dhabi’s socio-economic development. This agreement will help stimulate more commercial opportunities for local companies and create more private-sector jobs for UAE nationals," he continued.

For his part, Mohammed Al Hammadi said, "The Abu Dhabi Local Content programme encourages companies to increase their contribution to the development of the emirate’s local economy as it improves their access to government tenders. ADNOC has pioneered this certification in the UAE and its success in the first two years of their programme has put billions of dirhams back into the national economy."

"We wanted to standardise the measures followed by both ADNOC’s ICV programme and ADDED’s Local Content programme to enhance the ease of doing business in Abu Dhabi and at the same time promote In-Abu Dhabi Value investments," he explained. "This initiative reflects the drive to consolidate efforts among government and semi-government entities to support the growth of the private sector, and direct government spending towards the development of local content. ADDED is proud to be supporting Ghadan 21’s goal of transforming Abu Dhabi’s economy."

ICV Certificates measure a company’s contribution to socio-economic development by taking into account the goods produced or manufactured locally, the value of spend on locally procured products and services, a company’s local investment and its Emiratisation record, as well as UAE-based expatriate employees’ contribution to the national economy.

ADNOC launched its ICV programme in 2018 to encourage private-sector partnerships and opportunities resulting from the company’s 2030 smart growth strategy, accelerate socio-economic development, improve knowledge-transfer and generate jobs for UAE nationals.

More than 3,000 suppliers are certified in ADNOC’s ICV Programme, which serves as the primary enabler of ADNOC’s – and suppliers’ – contributions to the UAE’s socio-economic growth and development. The programme has driven more than AED44 billion back into the UAE’s economy and enabled over 1,500 private-sector jobs for Emiratis since it was launched in 2018.

In 2019, ADDED introduced the Abu Dhabi Local Content, ADLC, initiative as part of the Ghadan 21 accelerator programme to encourage the private sector participating in government tenders to increase their economic contribution in Abu Dhabi. Unifying the processes of evaluating this contribution and issuing a joint ICV certificate will enhance the ease of doing business in Abu Dhabi and will also drive investments in localised measures.

Companies wishing to participate in government tenders and take part in Abu Dhabi’s In-Country Value programme, should apply for an ICV certificate through certifying bodies identified by ADDED and approved by ADNOC.

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