The Dubai Free Zones Council (DFZC), chaired by His Highness Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, held its 31st assembly to debate strategic initiatives aimed toward supporting sustainable financial development and enhancing the worldwide competitiveness of Dubai’s free zones.
The Council underlined the significance of fostering a versatile and built-in legislative setting to assist enterprise operations and increase investor confidence, based on a statement by the Dubai Media Workplace.
Enhancing Dubai’s free zone competitiveness
The assembly started with a overview of the progress made in implementing the rules of the UAE Nationwide Anti-Cash Laundering and Combatting Financing of Terrorism and Financing of Unlawful Organizations Committee (NAMLCFTC) throughout Dubai’s free zones.
Discussions centered on alignment with the Nationwide Threat Evaluation (NRA) outcomes, knowledge integrity, operational challenges, and total compliance readiness.
Council members additionally reviewed the necessities issued by the Nationwide Committee, together with focused practices and the roadmap for the 2025–2027 evaluation cycles.
A set of suggestions was offered to enhance compliance effectivity and assist the UAE’s preparedness for upcoming evaluations.
The assembly additionally centered on the implementation of Govt Council Decision No. (11) of 2025, which regulates the operations of free zone entities in Dubai.
The Decision represents a milestone, permitting companies to increase domestically with out the necessity to set up new authorized entities.
The Council reviewed the Decision’s implementation phases, twin licensing standards, and integration with digital platforms—aligned with world competitiveness benchmarks and the Dubai Economic Agenda D33, which seeks to double the dimensions of the emirate’s financial system over the following decade and place Dubai among the many prime three world cities.
Discussions additionally coated efforts to streamline procedures and guarantee a seamless expertise in acquiring providers and licences from native and federal entities, significantly for actions that require exterior approvals.
The Council addressed challenges associated to overlapping jurisdictions and procedural inconsistencies.
Proposed options included full digital transformation, the adoption of unified requirements, risk-based classification of actions, and the fast-tracking of strategic initiatives.
The assembly additionally included updates on the event of particular financial zones, a overview of the Council’s achievements, and a dialogue of key strategic initiatives.