Ahmed Mahboob Musabih, Director General, Dubai Customs • Interview

Dubai Customs has introduced a variety of development programs and innovative systems that help maintain its position as the world’s leading customs authority.

Can you outline the role of Customs World and Dutech within the Ports, Customs, and Free Zone Corporation (PCFC)?

Both Customs World and Dutech fall under the PCFC. Customs World is the consultancy arm of PCFC involved in providing various services related to customs modernization programs and unique solution provisioning that meet the current and future needs of governments in their drive to secure borders and facilitate trade. Dutech is the IT business partner of the corporation and its sister entities. The two entities encourage investment through the facilitation of trade by removing unnecessary trade barriers while protecting the borders against compliance risks. In relation to facilitating the flow of trade, we have embarked on a new initiative called the World Logistics Passport (WLP) with the help of Dubai Customs, DP World, dnata, Emirates Group, Dubai Trade, and Road and Transport Authority (RTA). We are focusing on making Dubai a mega hub that links the East to Africa and Central and South America. Our goal is to achieve the efficient movement of goods across borders in order to improve the performance, productivity, and proficiency of our business community.

What does RIISE mean for Customs World and its portfolio?

RIISE is a result of years of international and regional experience in best customs practices that was used to create a unique and one-of-a-kind new generation of solutions that are ahead of all others in terms of capability and agility. It stands for revenue, intelligence, innovation, security, and economy. Our main goal is to assist nations with modernizing their customs and border processing systems by incorporating machine-learning capabilities and predictive analytics into their core business practices. RIISE can be used private companies to interact with government agencies and by private warehousing companies to organize their interactions. Aside from its customs management capabilities, RIISE has a more futuristic feature, which removes barriers of trade by minimizing cumbersome bureaucracy. We bridge strategic and operational perspectives for customs modernization and trade facilitation with solutions that increase the level of transparency and integrity and help reduce or eliminate corrupt practices. This innovative tool helps us navigate unchartered waters and gives us the courage to take the extra step.

How can your innovative customs solutions help advance developed markets?

Customs authorities often fail to adopt disruptive techniques and advanced technologies. This is why there is a need to reinvent and restructure the existing operating model of business and customs processing and reinvent the way trade is done with the introduction of virtual, data, and process-driven solutions. With that in mind, we built RIISE as a trade facilitation platform that is unique and futuristic and involves all stakeholders to offer a smart, intelligent, integrated, and complete end-to-end solution for trade flow. With the World Logistics Passport (WLP), a new and innovative model of trade facilitation is being developed using RIISE as a platform to serve authorities, strategic operators, and trade communities. Using RIISE, strategic players in the supply chain such as DP World and Emirates Group can secure trusted green corridors for their trusted clients, increase efficiency, reduce costs, and build stronger relations with their clients. Authorities that adopt and facilitate the WLP and RIISE platform will be the biggest winners, as these tools will enable them to achieve their strategic objectives and secure trade routes.

Capitalizing on Dubai’s capabilities and reaffirming its position on the global stage are our priorities, given that we are in a fierce competition with regional and global competitors. We are now preparing ourselves for another leap forward, and RIISE will be a valuable platform for accomplishing this along with the support of the government, cutting-edge technologies, operators such as Emirates and DP World, and trust of the trade community. We are also looking to change the existing operating model to bring in innovative ways of doing trade. ✖