Dubai: Dubai Customs once again secured the prestigious Elite Award in the 2024 cycle of the Dubai Government Excellence (DGE) program. This recognition, presented by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, serves as a testament to the government department's commitment to outstanding performance.

Attaining the Elite Award motivates all Dubai Customs staff to constantly improve their performance. The goal is to keep enhancing the quality and agility of exceptional customs services for clients, aiding in vital societal protection and trade facilitation tasks benifiting from the Dubai Government Excellence Program, which strengthens partnerships between governmental bodies and the private sector, enhancing customer satisfaction. This has led to Dubai Customs achieving a 95.4% customer happiness rate based on the 2023 Dubai Government Customer Happiness Index. Furthermore, Dubai Government Excellence program boosts Dubai's competitive edge, enhancing the UAE's global competitiveness and attracting foreign investment. The program also enhances institutional agility in governmental departments and entities, allowing them to adapt quickly to global changes. Dubai Customs is among the departments effectively seizing opportunities for continuous performance improvement through swift adaptation.

H.E. Sultan bin Sulayem, DP World Group Chairman & CEO and Chairman of Ports, Customs and Free Zone Corporation, expressed deep appreciation for the honor bestowed upon Dubai Customs by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum.

Bin Sulayem expressed: “This recognition underscores Dubai's global leadership in achieving excellence and advancing steadily towards international prominence across various domains. The emirate's relentless efforts in enhancing government services have positioned it as a global leader, with Dubai Customs playing a pivotal role in this transformation. By providing top-notch facilitation and competitive advantages to traders and investors, Dubai has witnessed remarkable growth in foreign trade, surpassing the value of 2 trillion dirhams in 2023. This remarkable achievement signifies significant progress towards the economic goals outlined in Dubai's agenda D33, aiming to double foreign trade and solidify the emirate's status as a key global hub for trade and investment.

Dubai Customs remains proactive in keeping pace with global trade developments, leveraging technology such as blockchain to launch innovative initiatives like the cross-border e-commerce platform. These endeavors further reinforce Dubai's position as a frontrunner in e-commerce and demonstrate its commitment to staying ahead in an evolving global landscape.”

Dr. Abdulla Mohammed Busenad, the Director General of Dubai Customs, stated: "We are delighted that the wise leadership has confidence in Dubai Customs’ excellence. Thanks to this valuable trust, the department continues to progress and consistently receives important awards for excellence and leadership, which we culminate with the DGE’s Elite Award. This represents an additional step of success in our journey and a new milestone in our ongoing pursuit to solidify our position at the forefront of global customs work."

He further added: "The evaluation criteria set by DGE are among the most important components of success and excellence in customs work development. These include development plans implemented by Dubai Customs to support its excellence by enhancing the efficiency of its capabilities in protecting the security and safety of the community. This involves combating all attempts to smuggle prohibited substances and thwarting them at Dubai's border crossings. We continue to work on developing our inspection and examination system at our customs centers using the best global X-ray scanning devices, supported by the enhancement of the Risk Engine system capabilities developed by the department to monitor commercial shipments in advance before their arrival. This enhances the advanced capabilities of customs inspectors at Dubai Customs centers, enabling them to efficiently access prohibited materials to ensure their prevention from entering through border crossings."

The Director General of Dubai Customs affirmed that the department has integrated plans for maintaining excellence. These plans are monitored by the leadership team within the department to ensure their execution by employees at all administrative levels, fostering a spirit of teamwork to achieve the best results.