Rolls-Royce plc and Mubadala Development Company, the wholly-owned investment and development vehicle of the Government of Abu Dhabi, yesterday signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to jointly identify and deploy commercial opportunities in aerospace, marine, industrial and renewable energies sectors.

The agreement was signed at Mubadala’s Headquarters in Abu Dhabi, the UAE capital, by HE Khaldoon Khalifa Al Mubarak, Chief Executive Officer of Mubadala, and Sir John Rose, Chief Executive of Rolls-Royce plc. Rolls Royce and Mubadala are in the process of establishing a joint venture company to develop in-country capability to serve Rolls-Royce customers across the Middle East and North Africa, with specific activities developed according to customer and market demand.

HE Al Mubarak said: “The signing of the Memorandum of Understanding with Rolls-Royce is in line with our objective to partner with the best in the business.

Mubadala looks forward to developing profitable business opportunities with Rolls-Royce in Abu Dhabi and the MENA Region. We also look forward to promoting a culture of superior performance and growing Abu Dhabi’s own cadre of specialized capabilities in the various industrial sectors targeted by the strategic alliance. “We already enjoy a long and fruitful relationship with Rolls-Royce and we are pleased to take this to a new level through the signing of this MoU.”

Sir John Rose said that with a fast-growing business in the Middle East, Rolls-Royce is committed to building on and accelerating its success through the creation of strategic partnerships. “We are delighted to be partnering with Mubadala and help the organisation take a major step forward on its mission to become a benchmark for regional business excellence, and to create lasting benefits for the Emirate of Abu Dhabi and its people,” he said. “We already work closely together in many of these areas such as energy, through the Dolphin Project, civil aviation with Etihad, defence with GAMCO and Marine with Abu Dhabi Ship Repair Yard and we look forward to broadening our relationship with these organisations and into other areas through this MoU.”

Mubadala Development is a Public Joint Stock company, established and wholly owned by the government of Abu Dhabi with a mission to invest in commercially-viable, strategic, industrial and commercial partnerships

The company’s portfolio of international investments includes a 5% in Ferrari, a stake in nine oil exploration blocks in Libya, and a 25% stake in the Dutch fleet management giant LeasePlan Corporation, while its local and regional investments include a 51% majority stake in Dolphin Energy and shares in many other companies, such as Aldar Properties, National Central Cooling Company, Abu Dhabi Ship Building, Imperial College London Diabetes center in Abu Dhabi, Injazat Data Systems, and Tanqia. Mubadala is also involved in a Public-Private Partnership to develop the UAE University’s new campus in the city of Al Ain.