DC Director receives Kuwait’s Consul General in Dubai

HE Ahmed Mahboob Musabih, Director of Dubai Customs, received HE Theyab Farhan Al-Rashidi, Kuwait’s Consul General in Dubai and UAE's Northern Emirates. The meeting agenda with Kuwait’s newly-appointed Consul General included a discussion on the aspects of cooperation, trade growth opportunities and exchanging Customs experiences between Dubai and Kuwait, under the umbrella of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC).

Accompanying Mr Al-Rashidi were Mr Salem Al-Jiran, Undersecretary in the Consulate General of Kuwait in Dubai and Northern Emirates, and Mr Abdullah Al Hajiri, Third Secretary at the Consulate.

HE Ahmed Mahboob welcomed Kuwait’s Consul General in Dubai and wished him a pleasant stay in the UAE and the best of luck in his newly-assigned duties. He stressed Dubai Customs’ commitment to enhance joint relations in areas of investment, trade and Customs, as well as deepen the cordial relations between two resilient nations that share deep historical ties on many levels.

HE Ahmed Mahboob said:” DC strives to keep open communication lines with Dubai’s trade partners, in particular the Gulf states which are brought together under the GCC Customs Union. The significance of the Dubai-Kuwait trade ties lies in the deeply-rooted relationship between the UAE and Kuwait. Dubai Customs is fully geared towards strengthening economic bonds with Kuwait. To that end, DC renders top Customs services and facilitations to traders from Kuwait and constantly coordinates with them”.   

HE added that” Kuwait is one of Dubai’s strategic trading partners. In the last few years, a steady growth has been seen in trade figures between the two. In 2013, the Dubai-Kuwait trade was valued at AED 19 billion, compared to AED 16 billion in 2012, with a 19% growth rate.  

Imports from Kuwait amounted to AED 4.6 billion last year, while Dubai exports to Kuwait reached AED 4.2 billion and re-exports  AED 10.1 billion.  Dubai Customs is committed to boost this kind of growth by rendering top-notch services and facilitations to Kuwaiti traders, allowing them to clear their consignments in record time and ensuring they get the best returns out of their operations with and through Dubai.

Mr Musabih noted that DC oversees Customs and trade affairs with all stakeholdersthough regular meetings with consulates, trade missions and business councils under the “Irtibaat” initiative, launched to constantly follow up with DC’s partners to offer them cutting-edge Customs services and facilitations.

On his part, HE Theyab Farhan Al-Rashidi, Kuwait’s Consul General in Dubai and UAE's Northern Emirates, commended the great hospitality of Dubai Customs officials. He also stated that HE Ahmed Mahboob shared  with him a prolific brief on work procedures, smart consignments and goods clearance systems, and the DC preoperational plans for Dubai EXPO 2020, in addition to exploiting potentials for bilateral cooperation and exchange of expertise.

 “We are proud of the world-class status attained by Dubai Customs in terms of successfully implementing e-transformation and globally reputed systems and business processes.  We are also happy that we have discussed experience exchange in various areas of Customs work, and fostering of bilateral trade with the United Arab Emirates,” he said.