16/05/2017

The second regional meeting on the best practices related to transhipments and transit shipping kicked off in

Dubai. The meeting comes within the framework of mutual cooperation between the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the United States of America (USA) concerning commodities and strategic goods subject to imports and exports control as well as exchange of expertise and experiences related to the best practices in shipping control measures. The two-day symposium is held in participation of general managers from GCC countries, representatives of concerned government and customs entities in the Middle East North Africa countries, alongside experts from international and regional organisations and private sector.

The meeting is hosted by the Executive Office for the Committee for Goods and Materials Subject to Import and Export Control, in partnership with the US Department of State and its delegation to the UAE. The launch was attended by HE Shehab Ahmed Al Fahim, Assistant Undersecretary for Protocol Affairs of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and HE Paul Malik, US Consul General.

HE the Assistant Undersecretary for Protocol Affairs of Ministry of MoFAIC opened the meeting with a keynote, followed by a speech by the US consul general. In its first day, the symposium threw light on the concepts of transhipping and in-transit shipping, the basics of monitoring transhipments and entities concerned with its control. Meanwhile, the second day addressed means of cooperation amongst agencies concerned with regulations and entry ports, in addition to ways of exchanging information and methods adopted to analyse data. 

The first day of the meeting tackled a number of issues and challenges related to control on re-exports and key factors of organising and controlling re-export shipments, control on exports and strategic goods, and bolstering international and regional coordination and cooperation among governmental and customs authorities in this regard.

Topics on the agenda of the regional symposium further included trends of international trade and transfer challenges; the best practices related to transit shipping and re-exports; requirements of reporting advanced electronic information; risk management systems; export inspection authority, penalties imposed on violators, post-shipping audits; and methods of regulating the re-export and transit shipping industry.   

The conferees underlined the need to boost international cooperation to prevent proliferation of weapons of mass destruction through coordination, exchange of intelligence and leverage of control and inspection procedures related to materials of mass destruction by providing the highest international training to the competent control and customs departments and units.

They called for providing an infrastructure that is furnished with the latest equipment and technology, supported by specific control measures on exports, stressing as well the need for putting into effect the relevant laws and regulations.

Worth mentioning, the Executive Office for the Committee for Goods and Materials Subject to Import and Export Control was created in 2009 and carries out its duties from the office of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Dubai.

The UAE issued Federal Law No. 13 of the year 2007 regarding goods and materials subject to import and export control. It discusses all the goods that are controlled, particularly materials related to weapons of mass destruction. The committee was also established according to this law, of which the executive office plays an important role in implementing international decisions in coordination with specialised authorities.

This is done by following a mechanism of issuing permits for the entry and exit of shipments subject to control through the customs points in the country. The aim is to prevent the abuse of trading facilitations offered by the country, the exceptional geographic location, the size of shipments passing through the country, and commercial exchange with different countries in the world.