Dubai, United Arab Emirates – Philips Lighting and Dubai Municipality expressed their intention to collaborate, to place Dubai at the forefront of creative and innovative technologies and solutions, by signing a landmark memorandum of understanding (MoU). The signing took place against the backdrop of the United Arab Emirates’ first ever Innovation Week (November 22- 28 2015), where several national initiatives that aim to further creativity across a broad range of sectors were launched.

2015 has also been marked as the ‘Year of Innovation’ by the UAE government. The national innovation strategy focuses on seven main sectors including renewable energy, transport, education, health, technology, water and space.

Speaking at the signing ceremony, Khalid Bin Zayed, Assistant Director General for Communication & Community Sector at Dubai Municipality said: “In line with the national strategy that aims to fulfill UAE Vision 2021, we are determined to place the UAE among the top countries in the world on the global innovation index. Innovation has always been at the heart of Dubai’s green goals led by Municipality’s various initiatives. We are committed to transforming Dubai into the most sustainable city in the world through adopting innovative solutions. By incorporating a wide range of advancements to our city’s infrastructure, including technology from a valued partner such as Philips, we have witnessed a reduction in energy costs and carbon footprint, in addition to substantial improvement in the overall quality of life in the city.”

Rami Hajjar, General Manager of Philips Lighting Middle East commented: “It is commendable for the government to provide such a nurturing environment for innovation. Dubai has shown tremendous leadership in spearheading initiatives such as Innovation week, specifically to improve the quality of life of its residents. Our mission at Philips is to improve people’s life wıth meaningful innovations. In collaboration wıth Dubai Municipality, our innovations will support Dubai in its transformation towards a smart city that is sustainable, livable, and connected. We are proud to have Dubai Municipality as our key partner and we are looking forward to have our first big impact in 2016.”

The agreement builds on a three-year long relationship between the two entities, where Dubai Municipality and Philips signed their first MoU to support the transformation of the Municipality’s 262 buildings from conventional lighting infrastructure to energy efficient LED based solutions. Phase one of the project saw 15 buildings of Dubai Municipality having their lighting installation upgraded to new LED technology. The initiative was recognized as ‘Lighting Project of the Year’ at the Middle East Lighting Awards earlier this year.