In a video conferencing meeting, HE Ahmed Mahboob Musabih, Director General of Dubai Customs discussed with his Finnish counterpart Hannu Mäkinen, Director-General of Finnish Customs the latest updates about the spread of the coronavirus and the procedures and measures taken to curb the pandemic, which affected the flow of global trade. In the meeting, which was also attended by Khalil Saqer bin Gharib, Director of Corporate Communication Department, Musabih and Mäkinen discussed means to grow mutual trade between Dubai and Finland and how to foster economic cooperation.

Dubai external trade with Finland made Dh380.3m in H1, 2020, which are divided into Dh355.3m of imports, Dh5.5m of exports and Dh19.4 of re-exports.

Musabih pointed out Dubai Customs managed to provide non-stop quality services and customs facilities to all clients in different countries during the pandemic.

“Thanks to our well governed work from home system, we resumed our work as efficiently as usual, facing the challenges that stemmed from the spread of the coronavirus. We are all grateful to our great teams and advanced technologies including Mirsal 2 system for customs operations and smart services,” said Musabih. 

He also talked about the stimulus package, which was launched by Dubai Government including a refund of 20 per cent on the customs fees imposed on imported products sold locally in Dubai markets. The package also includes the cancellation of the Dh50,000 bank guarantee or cash required to undertake customs clearance activity. Bank guarantee or cash paid by existing customs clearance companies will be refunded.

Dubai external trade in foodstuff recorded AED 32b in the first half of 2020 (9m tons). Imports made AED 22b (6.23m tons), exports touched AED 5.5b (201m tons), and re-exports recorded AED 4.5b (733,000 tons).

Trade in medical supplies and protective equipment in the same period made Dh12.4b (79,800 tons).

Hannu Mäkinen, Director-General of Finnish Customs hailed procedures and measures taken by Dubai during the pandemic to ensure a streamlined flow of global trade and uninterrupted supply chain activity. He thanked Dubai Customs for the world-class facilities it provided to trade from and to Finland.

Mäkinen talked about the role the Finnish Customs played during the pandemic in facilitating the entry of medical equipment and exemption from VAT to the country, in cooperation with the European Union. 

At the end of the meeting, Director General of Dubai Customs invited his Finnish counterpart to the 5th WCO Global AEO Conference which will be organized by Dubai Customs in cooperation with the World Customs Organization and the Federal Customs Authority in February 2021.