• H.E. Dr. Abdulla Busenad: We are not building cadres for current roles alone — we are building leaders capable of leading the future, empowering others, and turning ambitions into lasting achievements

Dubai Customs continues to cement its leadership in building specialized national competencies through its "Masar 33" initiative, one of its most significant strategic projects. The program aims to prepare a new generation of leaders and customs cadres capable of keeping pace with the rapidly accelerating changes in the trade and customs sector. It follows an integrated vision designed to develop professional capabilities and national leadership skills, supporting Dubai's D33 Economic Agenda and reinforcing the Emirate's standing as a global hub for trade and logistics services.

Qualitative Outcomes

The project focuses on building operationally ready cadres capable of performing their responsibilities independently and efficiently, while preparing a second row of qualified leaders to ensure business continuity and institutional resilience. It also identifies and nurtures emerging talent through an advanced leadership program that anticipates the sector's future needs. From its very first phase, "Masar 33" offered a continuous and flexible learning journey spanning various career stages — combining applied practical training with on-the-job learning in real work environments, enabling participants to acquire hands-on experience and forward-looking skills based on the latest global trends and policies.

The project's impact is further amplified through a strategic network of partners that includes leading academic and professional institutions — among them Dubai Logistics Academy and Nafis — in addition to partners from both the public and private sectors. Together, they deliver an integrated educational experience grounded in global best practices. Far from being a mere training and qualification program, "Masar 33" represents a long-term strategic investment in human capital that contributes to building future customs leaders and consolidating Dubai Customs' readiness to keep pace with global changes.

Between 2023 and 2025, "Masar 33" successfully built a growing base of qualified customs leaders through specialized leadership and academic programs. These programs contributed to qualifying 102 customs leaders, in addition to graduating 31 participants from bachelor's and master's degree programs in international trade, customs, and logistics. Meanwhile, approximately 30 participants are currently completing their studies, reflecting Dubai Customs' clear commitment to sustaining its investment in national cadres and building the next generation of leaders.

Dubai Customs further strengthened these efforts by launching a specialized X-ray equipment training program in January 2026, aimed at enhancing customs inspection efficiency and aligning national skills with the highest international standards — part of its broader commitment to professional development in the logistics sector. In collaboration with Nafis, Dubai Customs delivered a 32-day program through "Nafis" that awards participants a Continuing Professional Development (CPD) certificate accredited by the Institute of Professional Development in the United Kingdom, specializing in customs and commercial operations. Of the 14 participants trained and upskilled from the private sector, 9 successfully secured positions at specialized private logistics companies during 2025.

Phase Two: The "Executive Leadership" Program

As part of its ongoing leadership development journey, Dubai Customs launched Phase Two of "Masar 33" — the "Executive Leadership" program — targeting the preparation and empowerment of second- and third-tier executive leaders. The program focuses on advanced methodologies in management and innovation, strategic thinking, and decision-making skills, in direct support of Dubai's D33 Economic Agenda.

The "Leadership Council" Session: Gearing Up for Singapore

In preparation for this phase, Dubai Customs organized a "Leadership Council" session that brought together a select group of executive directors and managers for an interactive dialogue to exchange leadership visions and experiences, entrench a culture of continuous learning, and set the stage for participants' imminent transition to Singapore to complete the program's training component.

The session featured a review of the most notable personal discoveries and lessons participants drew from their training and coaching experiences, alongside a panel discussion on adaptive leadership in a changing world — giving them a forward-looking perspective on future leadership requirements and strengthening their capacity to lead teams in an environment defined by rapid change and evolving challenges.

An Academic and Training Visit to Singapore

Participants will complete this phase through an academic and training visit to the Republic of Singapore, hosted by the National University of Singapore (NUS) Business School — one of the world's premier academic institutions in the fields of management, business, and economics.

The program's agenda covers a range of strategic topics that map the future landscape of global trade and customs, including geopolitical developments and their impact on international trade, the future of customs and smart border management, advanced logistics services and supply chains, digital transformation and AI applications, and building future leadership capabilities within the trade and customs sector.

These focus areas reflect Dubai Customs' vision of preparing leaders equipped with strategic thinking and the ability to anticipate global changes — reinforcing its approach to sustaining national competencies by providing opportunities for learning and exposure to global best practices.

"Masar 33" is not a conventional training program — it is an integrated strategic system for managing and sustaining leadership talent, designed to empower national competencies to move from functional distinction to institutional impact and decision-making, ensuring the continuity of knowledge and expertise and strengthening Dubai Customs' readiness for the future.

His Excellency Dr. Abdulla Busenad, Director General of Dubai Customs, affirmed that "Masar 33" represents one of Dubai Customs' most important strategic investments in human capital. It embodies the organization's forward-looking vision of building national leaders equipped with strategic thinking and the capacity to anticipate the future — keeping pace with the rapid transformations shaping the customs and trade sector at both the regional and global levels.

He stated: "We are not building cadres for current roles alone — we are building leaders capable of leading the future, empowering others, and turning ambitions into lasting achievements. From this premise, 'Masar 33' was conceived as a strategic investment in people, aimed at preparing leaders with vision, flexibility, and the ability to make decisions and drive change in an unprecedented fast-changing world."

He added: "We believe that leading organizations are measured not only by what they achieve today, but by their ability to prepare those who will lead their success tomorrow. That is why we are committed to providing the best learning and development opportunities for second- and third-tier leaders through partnerships with world-class academic and professional institutions, ensuring that knowledge from international experiences is transferred and transformed into institutional practices that elevate performance and strengthen organizational readiness for the future."

He noted that Phase Two of "Masar 33," embodied in the "Executive Leadership" program, represents the natural completion of an integrated journey that began with building specialized competencies and culminates in preparing executive leaders with a comprehensive vision for the future of global trade, customs, digital transformation, and AI-driven supply chains.

He concluded by saying: "Our responsibility does not stop at managing the present — it extends to building the future. That is why we work to build an integrated system for discovering competencies, empowering them, and preparing them for future leadership, because true investment is not in projects or technologies, but in the human being capable of turning vision into impact, and challenges into opportunities and ambitions into lasting achievements. This is how 'Masar 33' continues to serve as a strategic platform for building a national leadership industry that contributes to achieving Dubai's D33 Economic Agenda and cementing Dubai's position as a global hub for trade and logistics services."