Abu Dhabi’s Economic Vision 2030 identified two key priority areas for economic development in Abu Dhabi: building a diversified, sustainable economy, and ensuring a balanced social and regional economic development approach that brings benefits to all.
This was achieved by addressing the challenges and leading Abu Dhabi’s efforts towards embedding quality into local culture, and integrating the Emirate into the international QI framework.
Under the patronage of HH Sheikh Hamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the realization of this vision began with the establishment of the Abu Dhabi Quality and Conformity Council (QCC) as a standalone entity, under the Law #3/2009.
One of the initiatives of QCC was the establishment of the Metrology Center of Abu Dhabi to cover the measurement needs of the Emirate by providing calibration services to the calibration and testing laboratories in Abu Dhabi (mainly the needs of the Central Testing Lab-CTL) and to support QCC legal metrology operations.
From the beginning of the implementation of the project, it became evident that the Metrology Center should and could play a much higher and more strategic role for the UAE.
Under a visionary leadership, the Metrology Center was renamed the Emirates Metrology Institute (EMI), and took all necessary initiatives and actions to become the National Reference in Measurements.
In December 2014, EMI was nominated as the National Metrology Institute of the UAE by the federal authority (Emirates Standardization and Metrology Authority-ESMA), with the following main responsibilities:
- Maintain the national measurement standards;
- Cooperate with BIPM and other NMIs to facilitate international recognition of the UAE metrology system;
- Provide the necessary advice and support to the government, industry, commerce and the public on metrological issues
- Disseminate the units, providing traceability to the national measurement standards for other elements of the metrology system;
- Represent the UAE internationally in organizations and events related to metrology;
- Provide the necessary advice and support to the government, industry, commerce and the public on metrological issues.