The Ministry of Environment and Water recently held at its Dubai headquarters a workshop on the Agreement on the Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) Measures and its provisions. The participants included experts from the Ministry, the Ministry of Economy, the Ministry of Health, the Federal Customs Authority, the Abu Dhabi Food Control Authority as well as other relevant government, municipal and local authorities such as the Emirates Authority for Standardization and Metrology
The workshop was conducted to build human capacity in terms of understanding and implementing the provisions of the SPS Agreement and its national application. The SPS Measures are considered among the most important multilateral standards of the World Trade Organization (WTO). The UAE acceded to the SPS Agreement in 1996. Around 160 countries comply with WTO SPS Measures, which aim to regulate the health measures taken by the member states. The regulation strives to protect human, animal and plant life and health from potential risks of transmission and spread of epidemics and pathogens through international trade.
Engineer Saif Mohammed Al-Shara', Assistant Undersecretary for Agricultural and Livestock Affairs, Ministry of Environment and water said: “In accordance with the Ministry’s role as a country liaison to the SPS Agreement and in line with its strategic objectives to prevent agricultural pests and animal diseases and promote food safety, we organized the workshop to strengthen the role of the Ministry’s partners concerned with the implementation of the provisions of the SPS Agreement.”
In addition, the workshop aimed to implement the notification and query procedures related to the provisions of the SPS Agreement in order to develop a system based on global standards set by international organizations involved in agricultural and livestock health. The organizations include the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE), the International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC), and the Codex Alimentarius. The event also aimed at training the Ministry’s employees and other concerned local authorities in implementing the SPS Agreement’s provisions. It also strived to raise the awareness of industry professionals and specialists regarding the Agreement to ensure smooth flow of agricultural goods to and from the UAE. The objective is to remove and reduce the obstacles facing trade in food, agricultural and animal products as well as exports of these goods to foreign markets.
The workshop also discussed the SPS Agreement and its annexes, types of notifications, and a mechanism to implement them. Additionally, the event talked about the process of preparing and publishing the UAE’s own regulations. It also reviewed the measures taken by WTO member states as well as discussed future actions aimed at enforcing the SPS Agreement and its local application. The event also served as a platform to address biosecurity and food safety in relation to the Agreement.
In 2011, the country imported an estimated 8.8 million tons of agricultural food products worth AED 21 billion and exported an approximately 164,000 tons worth AED 383.5 million. During the same year, its re-export of agricultural products was about 1.472 million tons worth AED 4.667 billion. Further, the imports of live animals and their products during the same period amounted to 1.184 million tons worth AED 11.3 billion; exports, about 87,000 tons worth AED 1.180 billion; and re-exports, was about 55,000 tons valued at AED 487.4 million. The numbers indicated the scope of global interest in the UAE. The Ministry is working to position the country as a major international trade hub by harmonizing and integrating the local veterinary quarantine regulations with the global system to ensure smooth flow of goods to and from the UAE.