The Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) Courts has signed a cooperation agreement with The Law Society of Hong Kong, one of Asia's leading financial centres.

The agreement was signed as part of a Hong Kong delegation visit to Dubai, which also included Paul Lam SC, Secretary for Justice of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government, and the Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC).

Speaking at the signing, Justice Omar Al Mheiri, Director of DIFC Courts, said, "The development of modern commercial courts should rank among the region's foremost achievements of the last two decades; not the facilities themselves, but rather the certainty that they have brought to the domestic and international businesses and individuals operating in the region.

"Connectivity is one of the four mission pillars of the DIFC Courts, and crafting productive partnerships underpins this objective. By working together with other legal bodies from across the world to explore practical synergies, and by sharing best practices, we will be best able to support our respective business communities and the economic success of our respective states."

The agreement will serve as a mechanism to foster investor confidence and cultivate further access to justice. It will also aid closer relations between two leading common law institutions and facilitate more confidence for businesses from Hong Kong and the UAE transacting between two of Asia's leading financial centres.

C. M. Chan, President of The Law Society of Hong Kong, said the agreement is "the first agreement of its kind between The Law Society of Hong Kong and a Middle East courts system".

He also expressed confidence in the agreement's potential to significantly bolster legal and judicial sectors, fostering collaboration between businesses in both regions and worldwide.

In 2024, Hong Kong's Census and Statistics Department confirmed that non-oil foreign trade value between the two countries surged from $9.4 billion in 2020 to $16.23 billion in 2022. Non-oil foreign trade value continued to grow in 2023, reaching $16.2 billion in the first 11 months of the year.