Improving the Border Agency Cooperation
Among the OIC Member States for Facilitating Trade
78
customs union. First, securing political support for international customs reforms is the most
pressing issue. A typical supranational political process requires a great deal of meetings,
formal correspondence, and patience. Second, lack of funding is another major challenge. Since
2008, the UAE and other GCC members have suffered from the downturn of global markets and
exceptionally low oil prices. As the flow of money to the Gulf region has slowed down, customs
and other government agencies have faced budget cuts. The lack of funds reduces resources
that customs can dedicate to international collaboration, development projects, and
deployment of new technologies. Before another economic turnaround, the development of a
regional AEO program, GCC Single Window, joint customs houses, and broader mutual
recognition of border controls is expected to be rather slow. The third challenge is technical:
government agencies are using a broad array of clearing systems, some of which are still
manual, and this complicates exchange of information among the relevant government
agencies.
Finally, the main international BAC activities are summarised in the Table below. It shows that
most cross-border BAC activities in Abu Dhabi (and the UAE in more general) take place at the
GCC level. However, there are also some bilateral arrangements between UAE and Oman as
well as between UAE and Saudi Arabia, although these initiatives are still under development.
Abu Dhabi and other customs administrations of the UAE exchange intelligence on customs
matters with foreign customs administrations either bilaterall or through the WCO, and
especially its regional intelligence liaison office.
Table 11. Summary of international BAC activities in Abu Dhabi
Report sub-headings Status Related international
arrangements
Joint border controls Under development UAE-Oman and UAE-Saudi Arabia
International exchange of
intelligence
Operational WCO, Gulf Cooperation Council
Cross-border collaboration
in customs training
Operational Gulf Cooperation Council
GCC standard for customs
declaration data
Operational Gulf Cooperation Council
Towards regional e-
clearance systems
Under development Gulf Cooperation Council
Towards regional AEO-
program
Under development Gulf Cooperation Council
Source CBRA case analysis