At the Ports, Customs, and Free Zone Corporation’s – PCFC headquarters in Dubai, Dr. Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi, who is the minister of foreign trade, led a high-level coordination meeting. The meeting brought together senior executives from shipping companies around the world and also representatives from maritime associations. This was part of ongoing efforts to deal with the problems that are currently affecting supply chains in the region.
The chairman of the PCFC, Abdulla bin Damithan, and Dr. Abdulla Busenad, who is the director general of Dubai Customs, were both at the meeting. Furthermore, there were high-ranking officials from the logistics as well as maritime industries.
The commitment of keeping the trade flowing and showcasing a stronger UAE Regional supply chain resilience by working closely with partners and coming up with new ideas that solve the problems the region is facing right now was reaffirmed by Dr. Thani Al Zeyoudi.
He said that the strong commitment by the UAE to building partnerships and increasing cooperation in the region and around the world is shown by the ongoing high-level coordination among the key stakeholders. The goal of this project is to work on UAE Regional supply chain resilience by making regional supply chains more efficient, flexible, and responsive so that goods can move freely, especially critical and strategic goods.
There are also efforts to improve alternative trade routes and put in place better customs and operational systems that make the country more competitive and a more reliable global trade and logistics hub.
He went on to say that “The UAE will continue to play a pivotal role in supporting regional and international trade stability through targeted initiatives and adaptive policies that enhance supply chain performance and sustainability. The UAE stands ready to deepen its engagement with regional and international partners to build a more connected, resilient, and future-ready trade ecosystem.”
Bin Damithan, for his part, stressed the need for all parties to keep working together and coordinating their efforts. He also noted the progress that had been made since the last meeting in dealing with regional issues has made sure of continuous trade flow into the UAE.
He said that the right people have worked together to put a number of strategic plans into action that are meant to make the supply chain more resilient. These plans include making alternative corridors like Fujairah and Khorfakkan ports more efficient and making regional maritime connections stronger so as to ensure that cargo moves smoothly and quickly.
He went on to say that these successes show that both public and private sector partners are working together and are committed to the project. He also stressed that everyone needs to keep working together because costs are going up and operations are getting more complicated.
He also said that the meeting is an important place to look back on recent projects and talk about ways to work together more in the future and come up with practical and long-lasting solutions that make the supply chain more efficient and reliable.
He said again that keeping the flow of important goods going without interruption is still a top priority, along with making the UAE a reliable logistics hub for the region and the world.
Dr. Busenad also talked about important customs initiatives that have been put in place in order to help trade flows and make operations more efficient. He said that Dubai Customs is still committed to working with partners to come up with new and proactive solutions.
He added that “Over the past period, we have successfully implemented a number of high-impact initiatives that facilitated cargo movement and enhanced supply chain efficiency. These include the issuance of Customs Notice No. 6, enabling transit cargo movement through the green corridor with the Sultanate of Oman, the acceptance of undertaking letters as valid guarantees, and the organization of workshops with traders to explain green corridor mechanisms and address their enquiries.”
Dr. Busenad went on to say, “We are currently rolling out several pilot projects, including the activation of the Advance Cargo Information (ACI) system through shipping companies for all green corridor cargo, as well as the launch of a new maritime feeder service linking the region with India, further strengthening trade connectivity.”
He also underscored a number of ongoing projects, such as lengthening the grace period for re-export cargo, creating a framework to let more land transport companies join the secured corridors, expand the green corridor to include Saudi Arabia, and giving people more options for clearing goods within the corridor.
Dr. Busenad stressed that these efforts are part of a bigger plan in order to make the supply chains more resilient and sustainable, as well as to strengthen the position of the UAE as a highly efficient and globally competitive logistics hub.
The meeting also reviewed certain major developments that had happened since the last one, like better ways to handle important shipments, opening up new transport corridors, and using more multimodal transport solutions, such as land and rail, along with better operational solutions in order to address the capacity and cost-related challenges.
