New Zealand and Dubai have announced a new three-month pilot programme for electronic export certification, a new initiative set to further enhance trade of animal products between the two nations.

The pilot, a first for the UAE, was agreed by New Zealand’s Consul General Kevin McKenna and Khalid Sharif Al Awadhi, chief executive officer of Dubai Municipality for Health, Safety and Environment at the Dubai Municipality HQ this week.

Due to begin in April, the pilot will contribute towards Dubai's goal of being a paperless government by 2021 and is expected that the use of paperless certification will be rolled out long-term.

This was made possible by an arrangement between the New Zealand Ministry for Primary Industries and Ministry of Climate Change and Environment in place since 2016, which recognises that New Zealand's biosecurity and food safety regulatory systems is achieving the outcomes required under UAE law. New Zealand was the first country to have this recognition.
 
Electronic exchange of export certificates - paperless certification - will provide a simpler, more time effective and sustainable method to facilitate trade between New Zealand and Dubai. Current paper certificates result in a much slower process with importers required to present physical documents to border clearance officials in the importing country.
 
Through paperless certification, export certificates will be securely transferred from the New Zealand government’s e-Cert platform to the Dubai Municipality system in real-time, reducing any potential fraudulent use of paper certificates and helping to improve import efficiency during border clearance.

The electronic certification platform incorporates firewall protection and full data encryption to provide protection from unauthorised access and use. 
 
New Zealand is a leader in food safety and product traceability, and a trusted supplier of high quality and safe food to consumers in more than 100 countries.
 
The signing ceremony was attended by Thani Ahmed Al Zeyoudi, Minister of Climate Change and Environment; Dawood Al Hajri, director general of Dubai Municipality; and Matthew Hawkins, New Zealand Ambassador to the UAE. 

Khalid Sharif Al Awadhi, chief executive officer of Dubai Municipality for Health, Safety and Environment, said: “Dubai Municipality is the first government agency to link and approve e-health certificates for food.”

“The system will simplify and streamline border clearance procedures and make it smoother by reducing time spent in document inspections and for the process of virtual checking and limit the rejection or delay in the release of food shipments exported from New Zealand, in addition to supporting Dubai government's move towards the transformation of Dubai into a Smart City,” he added.
 
Kevin McKenna said: “The UAE and New Zealand are important partners. We both share a common vision on pursuing trade with trusted partners that contributes to the lives of all.”

“Making it easier to do business is at the heart of this paperless certification pilot and an exciting step forward for high-quality, safe, nutritious and delicious halal New Zealand food,” he added. – TradeArabia News Service