emirates7 - Dubai Customs and German Customs, represented by the Hamburg Main Customs Office, held an online workshop on port-related customs procedures with the aim of building capacity and increasing efficiencies.

The workshop focused on exchanging customs inspection expertise and enhancing collaboration to address the dangers of smuggling and illicit trafficking by adopting global best practices as well as improving systems and processes to curb illegal trade in prohibited and restricted items through more effective border control, targeting, risk assessment and mitigation.

Raising inspection officers’ awareness about risks, threats, novel methods of manipulation and customs duty evasion, besides exploring ways for effective analysis of consignment documents to identify cargo misdeclarations and monitor violations and irregularities were also reviewed during the workshop.

Attending the workshop from German Customs were Manfird Lindloff, Deputy Head of Main Customs Office Hamburg and Pascal Eimert, Head of Container Inspection, in the presence of Nadja Hundt, Customs Liaison Officer, Consulate of Germany in Dubai. Matar Al Muhairi, Team Leader Inspections, Passenger Operations Department, led Dubai Customs’ team of experts taking part in this workshop.

The virtual workshop highlighted the importance of customs-to-customs cooperation and presented the model experiences of both Dubai’s flagship Port of Jebel Ali and the Port of Hamburg and identified key areas of customs work where they can learn and benefit from each other in the future.