Business & Money | Saturday 2 November, 2019 3:43 pm |

Director General of Dubai Customs, Ahmed Mahboob Musabih received in his office His Excellency Oleksandr Khomiak, Consul General of Ukraine to Dubai, accompanied by Timor Redvanov, Deputy Consul. The two discussed means of boosting cooperation between Ukraine and the UAE especially in bilateral trade and customs business.

“It’s very important for us to boost ties of partnership with the Ukrainian diplomatic missions and companies. We have priorities which include delivering a leading customs expertise to the world” said Musabih. “Ukraine is an important trade partner to Dubai, and our mutual trade in 2018 grew 24% to make AED 2.16 billion compared to AED 1.744 billion in 2017. Mutual trade in the first half of 2019 reached AED 1.147 billion, and the top commodities are steel, industrial pipes, packaged medicaments, and spare parts.

“We look forward to more trade and cooperation with Ukraine and to provide more access for the Ukrainian companies to benefit from our advanced customs systems and facilities. We try our best to add value to the business of our valued partners by applying the latest AI applications and IT systems.

 “Thanks to our Ertebaat Initiative we have more connectivity with the foreign diplomatic missions and business councils, and this is gaining more weight and importance in this period with the global renowned EXPO 2020 to launch soon. We keep evolving and developing our customs services, including EXPO 2020 smart customs channel which will help exhibitors clear their shipments in record time.

“Dubai Customs is hosting the 5th WCO Global AEO Conference in March 2020 in cooperation with the World Customs Organization and the Federal Customs Authority. This is the first time the region is hosting this conference which is expected to noticeably advance and promote the Authorized Economic Program (AEO) worldwide. We have signed AEO mutual recognition agreements with South Korea, Saudi Arabia and China, and declarations done through the AEO are expected to rise to 50% by 2020.” 

On his part, His Excellency, Oleksandr Komiak, Consul General of Ukraine to Dubai applauded Dubai Customs’ efforts in supporting national economy and developing tourism and trade stating that Dubai is a world class trade and tourism hub and a central link between the east and west.