Dubai Customs calls for more customer engagement to improve Customs work, boost trade

Dubai – 26 September 2019:   Dubai Customs organized its 6th monthly client recognition ceremony of 2019 to honor best performing clients and businesses in various categories. Director General of Dubai Customs, Ahmed Mahboob Musabih, attended  the event alongside a host of senior officers and heads of departments from Dubai Customs.

In his opening remarks, Director General of Dubai Customs, called for more customer engagement towards enhancing Customs work and boosting Dubai’s trade sector.

He said: “Dubai Customs steeping up collaboration and engagement  with customers to meet the vision of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai towards delivering a high standard of Customs services and facilities to all Dubai-based businesses and traders to help them do business more efficiently in a fast and cost-effective manner. This would ultimately enhance Dubai’s competitiveness as a hub of global trade.”

Ahmed Mahboob  pointed out that Dubai Customs reached unprecedented new heights of customer happiness by achieving a score of 97.49% on Smart Dubai’s Happiness Index 2018. “Our priority and focus going forward is to further engage with you our clients, so that together we can come up with new exceptional ideas and initiate innovative projects that would boost economic growth for Dubai and the UAE, in implementation of the objectives outlined in the “Letter of New Season” by HH Sheikh Mohammed and the Eight Principles and 50-Year Charter of Dubai,” he said.

“With Expo 2020 around the corner, Dubai Customs is speeding up efforts towards enhancing service standard and further streamlining customs processes     to ensure a resounding success for the global event. “But we cannot make that happen without the effective participation of all customers, our partners in success.  We are constantly looking forward to hearing your feedback and ideas that enable us to improve services and launch new initiatives that support our ambitions towards taking goods movement and trade facilitation to the next level.”

The use of high technologies like artificial intelligence is at the heart of what Dubai Customs do to develop customs and trade services to world class levels, Musabih said.  

“The aim is to boost the UAE's position on global competitiveness indicators, and to achieve the goals of UAE Vision 2021 and Dubai Plan 2021. We have made significant progress in our innovation and development drive, with a record of achievements towards automated customs clearance and non-intrusive inspection systems, such as Mirsal 2, Risk Engine, Advanced Container Scanning system, and very recently the Smart Vessel Berthing System launched in Dubai Creek Port which deals with around 50 other ports in 9 countries. Dubai's foreign trade transported through Dubai Creek over the past 10 years from 2009 to 2018, amounted to more than AED 122 billion, with the volume of goods traded totaling about 10.564 million tons.”

Dubai Customs Director General further noted that the entity recently launched the “AI Hackathon” to engage innovators and programmers in the development of smart high-tech systems and reward their ideas and innovations with valuable prizes. This initiative is part of our plan  to meet the UAE Centennial 2071 targets, towards implementing AI-based services  at 100% by 2031. 

Dubai Customs will be showcasing its projects and innovations in Gitex 2019, which is due to kick off on October 6. 

At the end of the ceremony, Ahmed Mahboob Musabih presented representatives of  27 top performing companies received shields of appreciation and recognition.