The General Administration of Abu Dhabi Customs recently announced the launch of its 2024–2028 Strategic Plan which aligns with the vision of the Abu Dhabi Government and the UAE’s forward-looking strategies.
The plan reinforces Abu Dhabi Customs’ position as a world-class customs authority that collaboratively works with partners to facilitate legitimate and secure trade through the adoption of advanced innovations and cutting-edge digital technologies.
Commenting on the launch, Rashed Lahej Al Mansoori, director general of Abu Dhabi Customs, stated that the 2024-2028 strategic plan continues Abu Dhabi Customs’ journey towards sustainable development to consolidate its leadership locally and globally among customs authorities.
Six key objectives
The Abu Dhabi Customs 2024-2028 Strategic Plan focuses on employing advanced and modern technologies, particularly blockchain, artificial intelligence and machine learning. In addition, it focuses on implementing a coordinated border management system, enhancing partnerships and cooperation to facilitate trade, and utilizing data analysis to generate insights that improve customs operations, support services, and enhance customer experience.
It is based on six key objectives:
- Enhancing customer experience to make Abu Dhabi the preferred trade destination.
- Boosting revenue collection and contributing to economic growth and competitiveness.
- Contributing to community security through enhanced compliance and effective risk management.
- Establishing a culture of excellence through innovative transformation and sustainability.
- Building the future of customs work through professional talent management.
- Leveraging future technology in customs work to achieve digital leadership.
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28 strategic projects
Al Mansoori added that Abu Dhabi Customs’ 2024-2028 Strategic Plan includes implementing 28 strategic projects. The most notable outcomes of the strategic plan include enhancing pre-arrival goods clearance transaction rates in Abu Dhabi and reducing average clearance time. Moreover, it seeks to achieve 100 percent compliance with international agreements, policies and customs procedures.
Abu Dhabi Customs has achieved significant progress in technology adoption, raising digital customs transactions by 27 percent during the first six months of 2024. Proactive and automated transactions also saw a 28 percent increase, making up a significant share of total customs transactions during H1 of 2024.
During H1 of 2024, customs declarations witnessed a 2 percent growth. In addition, pre-arrival customs clearance transactions comprised 71 percent of the total customs clearance transactions across various customs ports in the emirate, achieving growth of up to 46 percent year-on-year.
