Ministry of Economy, WIPO to create trust fund for intellectual property initiatives

The UAE Ministry of Economy, MoE, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding, MoU, with the World Intellectual Property Organisation, WIPO, establishing Fund-In-Trust which will promote activities of the Intellectual Property Rights, IPR, in developing countries and least developed countries.

The signing ceremony - held during Emirati Day at the WIPO premises - was organised by MoE in cooperation with WIPO, on the sidelines of Assemblies of the Member States of WIPO Fifty-Eighth Series of Meetings in Geneva, Switzerland.

Mohammed bin Abdul Aziz Al Shehhi, Under-Secretary of Economic Affairs at MoE; and Francis Gurry, Director-General of WIPO; signed the MoU in the presence of Obaid Salem Saeed Al Zaabi, UAE Ambassador and Permanent Representative of UN; and other international organisations in Geneva, as well as a number of senior officials.

The UAE is the first Arab nation to support execution of the development goals for developing and least developed countries and the Sustainable Development Goals, SDGs, in particular SDG9 through Fund-In-Trust. The fund places priority on financing the role of the sector in promoting economic and commercial activities which advances intellectual property’s, IP's, role in technological development, creative industries, small and medium sized enterprises, training and education.

Al Shehhi said that the MoU, which will see the establishment of a UAE Fund-In-Trust, FIT/UAE, for IP, aims to support implementation of the WIPO Development Agenda and its related activities in least developing countries and developing countries, which is in line with the country's leading regional position in serving and supporting the UN-led SDGs.

He added that the UAE since its inception has adopted a modern approach based on the openness, transparency to promote innovative and pioneering ideas while ensuring that the diversity of cultures is respected and valued, making the country among the largest Arab economies and one of the most important global trade centres.

In his speech, he noted that the UAE will continue to follow a development path towards economic diversity, driven by a knowledge- and innovation- based economy, including the development of an integrated system for the protection of intellectual property rights as one of the fundamental pillars for achieving these strategies and objectives.

Gurry, in turn, said that the UAE has reached remarkable achievements in terms of enhancing its competitiveness and capabilities in protecting and enhancing the IP rights, adding that the UAE is one of the most active countries in WIPO, especially in the last ten years, having signed several treaties and conventions of WIPO, especially in areas such as women empowerment in the IP sector, green technology, creative industries and other fields that serve the SDGs.