In a step to encourage growing business tourism in Dubai and promote its potential as a host city for major international conferences and meetings, Dubai Customs has signed a cooperation agreement with the Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (Dubai Tourism). 

The agreement was signed by Mohammed Al Ghaffari, Acting Executive Director, Human Resources, Finance and Administration Division at Dubai Customs and Ahmad Khalifa Al Falasi, CEO, Corporate Services and Investment at Dubai Tourism.

The two sides agreed to have a joint team and coordinators to make annual plans and specify the objectives and activities. This will help in attracting more events such as conferences to the emirate.

The two sides will work together to organise annual joint forums, conferences and workshops, and will cooperate to help Dubai host more international and regional events. Dubai Customs will also become a member organisation of Al Safeer Congress Ambassador Programme, joining entities and experts from across the public and private sectors in elevating Dubai within their respective fields as a business events destination.

Mohammed Al Ghaffari commented on the agreement:

“It’s very important we enhance cooperation with the Department of Tourism in order to promote Dubai as a regional and international hub for conferences, forums and customs activities. We annually organize workshops and conferences around the field of customs and trade services and invite international experts. These include the 5th WCO Global AEO Conference which will be held in Dubai in February 2021.”

Issam Kazim, CEO, Dubai Corporation for Tourism and Commerce Marketing, said: “This MoU between Dubai Tourism and Dubai Customs underlines the city’s commitment both to fostering a culture of collaboration across the public and private sectors and to building on Dubai’s status as a leading destination for business events. Through its mission to develop and facilitate trade, Dubai Customs is connected to strong global networks that position it well to attract international meetings and conferences to Dubai. The MoU also further strengthens the Al Safeer Congress Ambassador Programme, with Dubai Customs joining a wide range of leading entities across key sectors and professions committed to driving more business event bid wins and sharing knowledge and best practices to achieve this.”