Hamdan bin Mohammed chairs Executive Council meeting, approves E-commerce strategy

H.H. Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and Chairman of Dubai Executive Council, chaired today a meeting of the Executive Council at Emirates Towers, Dubai, in the presence of H.H. Sheikh Maktoum bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Deputy Ruler of Dubai.

During the council meeting, Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed said, "The UAE in general, and Dubai in particular, tops the list of the fastest growing electronic markets in the Middle East and North Africa region, thanks to the smart government initiatives and programmes that adopted digital transformation, as part of the directives of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai. It managed to boost investors’ confidence in the sector and offer opportunities of growth and development, where Dubai’s e-commerce work plan build on the exceptional success that Dubai has achieved in this domain."

"Today, Dubai is a platform for major global e-commerce firms, thanks to the conducive business environment and flexibility of investment, in addition to the integration between the government and private sector, as well as its logistics and strategic location that facilitate international trade," the Dubai Crown Prince added.

The meeting proceedings saw the Executive Council approve the Dubai E-commerce strategy, which was prepared by Dubai Free Zones Council, in partnership with Dubai Chamber, Dubai Custom and Dubai Economic Department, with the aim of solidifying the emirate's position as a hub for global ecommerce.

The strategy aims to cement Dubai as global logistics hub for the region where the ecommerce is set to reach AED12 billion of the local GDP by 2023, through a number of stimuilative initiatives and review the fees and requirements.

The plan also aims to attract more foreign direct investments in the ecommerce sector, and increase the market share of the Dubai based firms in term of local and regional distribution to reach AED24 billion by 2022, through slashing business cost of ecommerce activities by 20 percent, which includes reviewing cost of storage, custom fees, VAT and transportation among others. It also aims to reduce paperwork required for customs clearance and reduce fees imposed while passing through free zone gates.

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