Dubai Customs hosts government excellence awareness session

Dubai Customs hosted an awareness session on the updated Government Excellence System, its associated standards, and the assessment tool for the upcoming evaluation cycle in January 2024 in the presence of His Excellency Ahmed Mahboob Musabih, the Director General of Dubai Customs and CEO of Ports, Customs, and Free Zone Corporation, and His Excellency Dr Lowai Belhoul, Director-General of Legal Affairs Department along with more than 120 employees from both departments. The comprehensive assessment process covers the period from 2021 to 2023, based on the updated criteria. The event was also attended by the Dubai Government Legal Affairs Department (Partners of Leadership), with Dr. Hazza Khalfan Al Nuaimi, General Coordinator of the Dubai Government Excellence Program, delivering a presentation. 

His Excellency Ahmed Mahboub Musabih welcomed the participation of Dubai Government Excellence and the Dubai Government Legal Affairs Department as Partners of Leadership. He emphasized that this initiative aims to enhance collaboration among government entities to elevate performance levels, transfer experiences and knowledge within a unified team, and develop government performance and purposeful partnerships to enhance Dubai's leadership. He affirmed that the vision of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE, Ruler of Dubai, has laid the foundations of excellence in government work. The Dubai Government Excellence Program has succeeded, under the continuous guidance of His Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and Chairman of the Executive Council, in achieving qualitative leaps in the performance and delivery of government services in Dubai. These services have become a global hallmark, solidifying Dubai's position as the best city for living, working, and conducting business. His Excellency commended the updates introduced to the Dubai Excellence System, which pave the way for a new phase of excellence based on innovative foundations and criteria that enhance Dubai's global leadership.

He stated, "At Dubai Customs, we are committed to providing globally smart and advanced services, certified by the World Customs Organization and the International Monetary Fund. Dubai Customs has been globally recognized as a pioneer in adopting modern technologies and digitizing its operations. The awards received by Dubai Customs in innovation and project development are a testament to its global and local trustworthiness.”

 The government department has received numerous prestigious awards, including three high-level global awards at the 35th IdeasUK Organization Conference and Award. Dubai Customs has consistently achieved the top position in the Platinum Rating Index of the organization, surpassing most local and international institutions participating in the award and conference for the 13th consecutive year in 2022. In recognition of its innovation and development efforts, Dubai Customs was honored with the Excellence and Innovation Award by the global institution, "The Open Group." The government department also won the Best Project Management Office (PMO) award organized by the PMO Global Alliance, and it won the UAE Innovates 2022 Award in the category of Best Disruptive Innovation for the "Customs Dolphins" innovation.

Dr Lowai Belhoul praised the updates to the Dubai Government Excellence System, aiming to transition government entities into a new phase of excellence based on advanced criteria that enhance the quality of life and societal well-being, positioning Dubai as a leading city for living and working. He highlighted that the Dubai Government Legal Affairs Department is steadily progressing towards achieving its ambitious and sustainable goals by anticipating the future in government legal work, meeting the aspirations of the wise government for the highest level of excellence and leadership. This ensures global competitiveness and improves performance indicators in various fields.

Dr. Hazza Al Nuaimi, the General Coordinator of the Dubai Government Excellence Program, presented the updated system adopted by His Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, which includes the development of performance excellence evaluation. The updated system includes three new awards: Best Entity in Digital Empowerment, Most Future-Ready, and Best Joint Initiative to enhance the spirit of teamwork among government entities. He noted that the system includes 32 entities across 12 categories and 9 key criteria. He emphasized that the system will be a fundamental pillar in solidifying the concepts of institutional agility, public-private partnerships, and integrated proactive services, relying on digital technologies and future readiness.

He stated that today's meeting is part of the seminars organized by the program to familiarize participating entities with the requirements and updates of the system. These seminars aim to incorporate modern trends and concepts in excellence, comparable to global excellence models. He affirmed that Dubai has become synonymous with excellence in government work and that its experience has become a global benchmark to be emulated.