Dubai’s foreign trade in IT hardware for the first half (H1) of the year grew by 10 per cent to Dh126 billion ($34.2 billion), compared to Dh115 billion ($31.3 billion) for the same period of last year, figures from Dubai Customs showed.

The surge in trade volume of IT hardware is attributed to the growing local demand of such merchandise, due to the booming ICT sector to keep pace with the emirate’s efforts to become the world’s smartest city within three years, a statement said.

Ahmed Abdul Salam Kazim, director of Strategy and Corporate Excellence Department at Dubai Customs, said: “The growth in Dubai’s foreign trade in IT hardware mirrors the successful transformation of the UAE into a Knowledge Economy.

“This is clearly reflected in the Global Competitiveness Report issued by the World Economic Forum in 2014, which shows the country’s remarkable advancement in competitiveness indicators, becoming the 12th most competitive nation globally.”

The project to establish a national space agency and send the first Arab spaceship to Mars by 2021 is the beginning of a new chapter in the UAE’s scientific and technical progress, in line with the vision of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, UAE Vice-President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, to “make a new reality for all and change the concept of city which the human being lives in so as to live with him through his smart phone, making him its key pivot."

Kazim as well added: “We are putting together the building blocks to support Dubai Customs transformation into the world’s smartest customs within Dubai as the world’s smartest city,” Kazim added.

“We have scored an overriding progression in this frontier; in terms of using the latest IT applications in the development and delivery of customs services and facilitations, becoming the first fully smart government agency delivering its services via smart platforms 24/7.”

“We are keen on providing the best customs facilitations for trading in IT hardware, in an effect to enrich Dubai’s capacity to accommodate an even larger share of the world trade in these products. We are currently cooperating with the world’s most prominent mobile phones and laptop companies, seeking to leverage Dubai’s status as a starting point for their products distribution to the world,” Kazim concluded. – TradeArabia News Service