Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed hailed the UAE's efforts to harness a new generation of talent after touring a high-flying Abu Dhabi firm achieving "global excellence" in the aerospace sector.
The Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces met with the "young and talented" workforce of Strata, a major supplier of aircraft parts in the industry.
The company, Mubadala Investment Company’s aerospace manufacturing unit, was established in 2009 through a strategic partnership with leading aircraft manufacturers such as Airbus and Boeing.
Strata employs more than 700 staff and is playing a key role in ensuring young Emiratis can carve out successful careers.
"During a visit to Strata, I met young and talented individuals who are contributing to global excellence in the aerospace sector," said Sheikh Mohammed.
"This pioneering UAE initiative is at the heart of our ambition to invest in a diversified, knowledge-based economy led by a highly qualified workforce."
Strata currently manufactures parts on widebodies, business jets and turboprops.
It counts among its customers international aerospace giants Boeing, Airbus, Leonardo and Switzerland's Pilatus Aircraft for billions of dollars worth of contracts.
It is the Gulf’s biggest producer of aircraft parts and a key anchor of the UAE's economic diversification efforts.
The company makes composite parts for wings and tail fins on jets including Airbus A380s and A330s, as well as Boeing 777, 777X and 787 Dreamliners.
Last month, Mubadala announced a partnership with industrial company Honeywell to produce N95 face masks at Strata's Al Ain facility to boost the county's fight against the Covid-19 pandemic.
The production line was set to manufacture about 90,000 masks a day and have an annual output capacity of more than 30 million masks.
“As a responsible investor, we have been working across our global portfolio with local and international organisations to collectively respond to the Covid-19 crisis,” Khaldoon Al Mubarak, group chief executive and managing director of Mubadala, said at the time.
