DUBAI: The Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry said it hosted the recent Customs and Trade Facilitation Forum in partnership with the UAE Chapter of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC-UAE). More than 100 delegates, including senior officials from the ICC-UAE, World Customs Organization, Dubai Customs and representatives from Dubai’s business community, attended the forum in which industry experts share insights on global trade, the Dubai chamber said in a release. The delegates discussed industry trends, including digitalization, e-commerce growth challenges, the benefits of the World Trade Organization’s Trade Facilitation Agreement and the framework for the forthcoming Gulf Cooperation Council-wide value-added tax (VAT).
Speakers at the event included Atiq Juma Nasib, the Dubai chamber’s senior vice president of commercial services; Humaid Mohamed Ben Salem, chairman of the ICC-UAE; and Ahmed Mahboob Musabih, director of Dubai Customs. Musabih spoke about how Dubai is focusing on becoming one of the world’s largest cargo hubs by improving customs efficiency. “The development of customs work, for us, is an ongoing process which is also in line with our vision to be the leading customs administration in the world supporting legitimate trade,” Musabih said in the release. “The longstanding commitment to innovation in customs procedures and services have helped significantly speed up the processing of client declarations which reached 9.1 million declarations in 2016.”
