The Ministry of Environment and Water met with Mr. Jimmy Ferguson, the Director of Regional Bureau for Meat and Australian Livestock of the Middle East and North Africa at the bureau located in Dubai International Airport Free Zone "DAFZA”.

The meeting was convened in the presence of His Excellency Engineer Saif al-Sharae, Assistant Undersecretary for Agricultural & Livestock Affairs at the ministry along with representatives from the Department of Food Safety and the Department of Quarantine at the ministry.

  The ministry welcomed the opening of the regional office since it moved from the Kingdom of Bahrain to the UAE, specifically in the Emirate of Dubai, in a move that reflects the central role of the emirate as a global logistics hub for trade.

   At the meeting, the Director of the bureau praised the distinguished relationships between the two countries in the field of trade and economic exchange, where the trade volume have reached over $5.3 billion last year, indicating that the market in the region in general and the UAE market in particular represents a keen dominant market for Australian products and goods that which meet the various requirements of these markets.

    On his part, His Excellency engineer Saif Al-Sharae, the Assistant Undersecretary for Agriculture and Livestock Affairs at the ministry, said that the meeting aims to publicize the Ministry's role as a federal organization responsible for the import of meat and live animals in order to achieve the biosecurity, to protect the livestock from diseases and epidemics, and to achieve food security, as well as providing open channels of cooperation.

    Sharae reassured that importation of meat from Australia from abattoirs is allowed only if supervised by the UAE approved Islamic centers, and that importation of  live cows and sheep comes in accordance with the provisions of the memorandum of understanding signed with the Australian Department of agriculture.

    The Ministry declared that it is applying certain criterion and procedures used to import meat from abroad, and that includes that abattoirs which are directly exporting meat must be subject to the direct supervision of the Australian Government, and that slaughter houses must be supervised by accredited centers, as the imported missionaries must be accompanied by health certificates approved by government agencies in Australia, and scan all those missionaries and ensure their safety and health, but with regard to live animals, the Ministry had earlier have signed a memorandum of understanding between the two parties to regulate the import of live animals to the country.

   At the end of the meeting, the Bureau was appreciative for the visit by the Ministry of Environment and Water officials and from its part, the Ministry called on future meetings for further work and cooperation.