Ahmad bin Meshar, Secretary General of the Supreme Legislation Committee in the Emirate of Dubai (SLC), headed the UAE’s official delegation to the ‘e-Commerce Week 2019’, which was held recently at the United Nations Headquarters in Geneva. The UAE’s participation in the event is part of ongoing efforts to modernise the legislative and legal systems to support the UAE’s ambitious drive towards sustainable development by keeping up-to-date with the legislative and e-commerce international best practices.

The event was an opportunity for the UAE delegation to learn more about the laws and regulations implemented by European and developed countries for the purpose of personal and sensitive data regulation and protection, as part of the process of benchmarking successful international legislative models. This is in line with the UAE’s vision to establish a strong foundation for data security and protection, which is of strategic importance to implementing the UAE wise leadership’s ambitious plan to develop a competitive knowledge- and innovation-based economy and position the UAE as a global hub for the Fourth Industrial Revolution technologies.

H.E. Ahmad bin Meshar met with Dr. Mukhisa Kituyi, Secretary-General of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), and discussed areas of mutual cooperation in the field of digital legislation related to e-commerce, given the sector’s phenomenal growth in the UAE, which is the leading e-commerce market in the Middle East/North Africa region and the 17th globally, in terms of size. In addition, the meeting also discussed ways of achieving shared visions and aspirations of the UAE and UNCTAD, capitalising on the strong bilateral relations between the two parties, which have grown stronger over the last few years thanks to the efforts of the UAE Ministry of Economy. The meeting was attended by H.E. Mr. Abdelsalam Mohamed Al Ali, Director of the UAE Office to the World Trade Organization (WTO) and Mr. Ahmad Mousa Aljaghbeer, Legal Advisor, SLC Secretary General’s Office.

During the meeting, Bin Meshar reiterated the directives of Dubai’s wise leadership on legislation, highlighting the enormous support extended by the Dubai leadership to the SLC for the purpose of developing and issuing legislation that keeps pace with the evolving needs of the present and looks ahead to an ambitious future, with the ultimate objective of supporting Dubai’s drive towards sustainable economic development. Both parties also discussed the prospect of UNCTAD specialised advisers attending the legislative conferences that the SLC is planning to organise in Dubai in the future.

H.E. Mukhisa Kituyi thanked the UAE delegation for their visit, which demonstrates the UAE’s respect and appreciation for UNCTAD and the whole international community. He also lauded the UAE’s participation at this year’s e-Commerce Week, which attracted wide international participation. H.E. Kituyi confirmed his full support for the UAE’s efforts to host UNCTAD’s 15th session and welcomed the prospects of future cooperation, which can help boost the ambitious drive of Dubai and the UAE towards sustainable economic development.

On the sidelines of the e-Commerce Week 2019, Bin Meshar presented a research paper about the significance of data and the role it plays in e-commerce and digital economy and the impact it makes on trade and development, from the point of view of the UAE and in the context of the global framework for electronic commerce. He pointed out that the UAE was at the forefront in adopting the model of a knowledge and digital economy, especially in areas of e-commerce and business. Bin Meshar praised the consistent efforts made by UNCTAD in further promoting and regulating e-commerce, which is considered a vital source for growth and economic diversification locally and globally. H.E. also reaffirmed the UAE’s commitment to supporting the international community’s efforts to boost e-commerce, in line with the insightful vision of H.H Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, who said: “In 1999, many people questioned our idea to establish Dubai Internet City in the desert. Two years ago, Amazon acquired the multi-billion dirham Souq.com and today, Uber acquired Careem for Dh11 billion. These giant companies flourished from the “desert” of Dubai.”

The SLC Secretary General further said, “The UAE understands the importance of e-commerce as a key driver in the growth of economies around the world–from the creation of jobs to improving the way of life. With this in mind, the UAE calls upon all UNCTAD member states and international and non-governmental organisations to open new channels of communication, debate, and effective participation with a view to updating the legislation regulating e-commerce and the laws guaranteeing data protection. Today, the UAE remains fully committed to the outcomes of the WTO Ministerial Meeting in Buenos Aires, Argentina and Davos, Switzerland, by offering full support to e-commerce and regulating data privacy and protection. He also called on the global community to draft new legislation that ensures protection of consumer rights, effective data monitoring and handling mechanisms, protection of intellectual property (IP), protection of personal data, and countering cybercrime and misuse of Internet data for terrorist purposes. Bin Meshar called for concerting international efforts to strengthen digital security as a prerequisite for the achievement of the objectives of social and economic development.”

Speaking in his capacity as head of the UAE Delegation to the UNCTAD e-Commerce Week 2019, H.E. Bin Meshar elaborated on the UAE’s stand on creative economy and technological development, commending UNCTAD’s leading efforts in integrating data and releasing the Creative Economy Report series, which analyses the creative industries and provides insight into the global creative economy and e-commerce. Bin Meshar also lauded Indonesia’s pivotal role in hosting the World Conference on Creative Economy in November 2019, reaffirming the UAE’s aspirations to host its second edition in November 2020, in line with the UAE’s endeavours to promote innovation and activate the role of public and private sectors in driving forward the cultural and knowledge development process. “The UAE calls upon the international community to hold discussions on issues related to creative economy and intellectual property, with a view to creating a deeper understanding, addressing the challenges, as well as identifying and exploring opportunities in intellectual property systems to reach higher levels of sustainable economic growth.