FCA marks ICD; honours partners

In the celebration entitled “Innovation and Creativity”, the FCA honoured the strategic partners in local customs departments, security authorities, ministries, and federal, local and private institutions in the UAE.

It is the FCA’s proud boast that it has strong cooperation ties and partnerships with many departments, ministries, institutions, companies and organisations at the local, regional and international levels, said Khalid Al Bustani, FCA Acting Director General during the meeting. This boast is the product of the partners’ keenness and true desire for cooperation and accomplishment of duties so as to enhance the position of our dear nation and improve the services provided for citizens.

This celebration aims to deliver a thank-you, appreciation and love message to all partners at all levels for their services provided to the FCA and their cooperation with it to deliver its mission, Al Bustani said.

“Fortunately, a suit of our select partners are being honored on a day in which customs departments and authorities worldwide are observing the International Customs Day entitled “Innovation and Creativity”. Innovation and creativity in customs, or any other field, can be only attained through the assistance and support of innovative partners,” he said.

Statistics, Al Bustani said, shows that non-oil foreign trade rose almost four times to AED 927.6 billion in 2011, from AED 190 billion in 2003, at a growth rate of approximately 388 per cent in 9 years.

“No doubt that this growth stirs more challenges in face of customs departments in the UAE. The only effective way to overcome such challenges was developing our innovative and creative abilities”.

The FCA Acting Director General confirmed that the UAE seeks to promote the culture of innovation and creativity among society members in general, and among the federal government staff in particular, being the human capital and fuel of sustainable development.

The FCA is marching ahead in this field, thanks to the good leadership which is keen to spread excellence and innovation among all individuals, groups and institutions of the UAE society, he said.

Theme 3 of the UAE Vision 2021 states that “A diversified and flexible knowledge-based economy will be powered by skilled Emiratis and strengthened by world-class talent to ensure long-term prosperity for the UAE,” Al Bustani said.

“The FCA adopts innovation and creativity as an incentive for implementing our strategic plans,” he said. By the grace of Allah first, then by our good leadership, loyal staff and partner support, we managed to establish a technological system in customs field, that could be rarely found in the Gulf region and in some developed countries as well”.

“This new system built by the FCA, as part of its 2011-2013 strategic plan, includes an advanced electronic system of clearing and statistics, a support system for customs inspectors, a risk management system, an information exchange system about customs seizures, a system for declaring the funds of passengers, an electronic system for monitoring commodity price movement, a system for monitoring dual-use strategic commodities, in addition to a new system for the unified number of importers and exporters, which will be applied in the short run”, he said.

Innovation and creativity is the main pillar of the FCA’s new strategic plan for 2014-2016, aimed at implementing many ideas, initiatives and projects that promote the culture of innovation and creativity, and lead the UAE to the ranks of top countries worldwide, he maintained.

“Those initiatives and projects include the single-window project which helps traders and importers complete all transactions in a single place and through a single window. This saves their time, effort and money and helps traders and importers apply the green customs policies to protect environment. This project also helps to consider the time of customs clearing, the mechanism of distributing customs duties among the GCC countries, the customs clearing and inspection procedures and early inquiry about consignments,” he said.

The FCA’s projects and initiatives enshrined with innovation are intended to achieve strategic goals of enhancing the security of society, facilitating trade and enhancing cooperation with other countries worldwide, he indicated.

Al Bustani commended the role played by local customs departments in promoting customs awareness among all categories of society, like staff, customers and partners by enhancing the culture of innovation and creativity and creating proposal systems which had a major impact on developing work systems and achieved trader, individual and corporate ambitions.

During the celebration, the FCA’s journey was reviewed since inception up till now, highlighting the milestones and developments of the customs establishments in the UAE over 100 years ago. At the end of the celebration, the FCA armor was awarded to the honored partners of local customs departments, security services, ministries, federal and local authorities and institutions, media personnel and private sector companies.