The Statistics & Studies Section, Strategy & Corporate Excellence Department at Dubai Customs welcomed a delegation from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) led by Mrs. Anna Unigovskaya, Economist, Middle East & Central Asia; Mr. Chady A. El Khoury, Senior Counsel, Financial Integrity Group, Legal Department; and Mr. Andre Oliveira Santos, Senior Economist, Middle East & Central Asia.
The delegation was welcomed by Mrs. Nassim Saeed Al Mehairi, Senior Manager, Statistics & Studies Section, Mrs. Hala Al Yousfi, Manager, Customs Tariff Section along with representatives from the Statistics & Studies Section and the Audit Department at Dubai Customs.
The visit, which came as part of the IMF annual visit to the United Arab Emirates, was aimed at reviewing latest developments in foreign trade.
Nassim Al Mehairi briefed IMF officials on Dubai’s 2013 foreign trade figures and the emergent changes in the volume of local, regional and international trade passing through the Emirate, according to statistics released by Dubai Customs. The presentation included trade figures covering imports, exports, and re-exports, which will be incorporated in the IMF’s annual report. The delegation was also informed about Dubai’s major trading partners for the year 2013.
Anna Unigovskaya, Economist, Middle East & Central Asia, stated, “As usual our annual visit to the UAE is a pleasant and positive one. So far we have seen that there has been a rapid growth, especially in the non-oil sectors, as clearly shown by the statistics and data Dubai Customs presented during this visit.”
Mrs. Anna added, “The statistics we have seen show a remarkable increase in various non-oil economic sectors, which is a positive sign of Dubai and UAE’s solid economy.”
Al Mehairi further noted that “IMF’s annual meeting with Dubai Customs is vital, because we share valuable statistics and figures about Dubai’s foreign trade with other quarters of the world. Such information is of paramount importance to IMF and their annual report, and is also an indicator of the region’s economic situation.
Dubai Customs is the source of information in respect of Dubai’s external trade statistics. We presented figures about the top commodities, top trading partners and more.”
Dubai’s 2013 total trade including export, import, and re-export registered an 8% growth, compared to 2012. According to the statistics issued by Dubai Customs, Dubai’s top trading partners for 2013 are China, India, USA, Saudi Arabia, and the United Kingdom respectively, she remarked.
The meeting concluded with Mrs. Nassim Al Mehairi answering all of the delegation’s questions regarding trade, statistics and the economy. Al Mehairi said, “We are always delighted to welcome the IMF delegation and we value their eagerness to get all of the information relevant to Dubai’s economy and trade directly from Dubai Customs, being the main source of the Emirate’s bilateral and international trade flow data. This gives IMF experts enough room to include all the data and statistics released by Dubai Customs in the International Monetary Fund Annual Report.”