The consular envoy comprised Wolfgang Penzias, Trade Counsellor (European Union Delegation to the UAE); Joseph Giblin, Economic Officer at the Political and Economic Section - U.S. Consulate General in Dubai; Wiebke Gaede, Vice Consul of Economic and Cultural Affairs at the Consulate General of the Federal Republic of Germany in Dubai; Lotte Schippers, Consul and Head of Economic Department at the Consulate General of the Kingdom of the Netherlands; Pia Roed, Councellor and Deputy Head of Mission at the Embassy of Sweden in Abu Dhabi; Victor Suanzes, Commercial Attaché at the Spanish Embassy in the UAE; Gianpaolo Bruno, Trade Commissioner at the Italian Trade Agency; Lieselot Vanden Driessche, Commercial Deputy at the Government of Flanders – Embassy of Belgium; Viviana Caponi, Economic & Commercial Attaché at Consulate General of Italy; Carole Bremeersch, Regional Counsellor for Intellectual Matters Middle East INPI Expert at Embassy of France in Abu Dhabi; Samir Taha, Market Analyst and Head of Department at the Economic and Commercial Office in the Spanish Embassy; and Titus Tintean, Economic Secretary at the Consulate General of Romania in Dubai, UAE.
Commenting on the visit, Hamid Al Rashid, Director of Air Customs Centres Management at Dubai Customs, said, “Dubai Customs is very much keen on transferring knowledge and sharing practical experiences with all stakeholders, particularly diplomatic missions and local as well as international trade agencies, to further boost Dubai’s global reputation.”
The Director of Customs Refunds and Makasa Department Ms Ghaneema Ibrahim Ahmed delivered a presentation about the Smart Claim & Refund System. She explained that the system is an intelligence-enabled risk management framework with systematic application of refund procedures and practices that provide refund officers with the necessary information and tools to address risks, while ensuring compliance throughout the refund process. She underscored that Dubai Customs is the first Customs administration in GCC to provide online refund facility.
The visiting diplomats were also introduced to the Authorized Economic Operator (AEO) program, adopted by Dubai Customs. Eman Al Suwaidi, Director of Customs Declaration Management at Dubai Customs, made a presentation that highlighted the program’s nature and advantages to trade facilitation and streamlining procedures.
The delegates toured Dubai Customs’ Advance Passenger Information (API) Centre and were briefed on the centre’s functions of collecting Dubai inbound flights information and analysing it to point suspicious passengers.
The consular envoy praised Dubai Customs’ cutting-edge services and systems. They expressed their admiration of DC’s complete transparency in presenting information.
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