Dubai International Financial joins the Cross-Border Privacy Rules Forum

Yesterday, the Dubai International Financial Center announced its membership in the Global Forum on Cross-Border Privacy Rules, during a workshop held recently within the forum in the Philippines, noting that this is the first time it has been held between countries outside the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Forum, which is a forum that encourages free trade between some countries of the Pacific Basin.

The Center stated, in a statement, that as a condition for membership, it has also joined the International Cooperation Agreement for Privacy Enforcement (CAPE).

This membership contributes to facilitating more global trade, while protecting the trust resulting from cross-border data flows, in a secure and more transparent manner.

The CEO of the Dubai International Financial Center Authority, Arif Amiri, said: “The Center’s acquisition of membership in the Global Forum for Cross-border Privacy Rules, as the first judicial authority in the region, comes in recognition of its continuous efforts and initiatives aimed at enhancing data protection and privacy.”

He added: “In light of the digital age, with its global interconnectedness and tremendous technological development, information has become available everywhere and can be shared immediately. This has forced companies – especially in the financial sector – to deal daily with unprecedented huge amounts of personal data electronically and internationally.”

He pointed out that “Dubai International Financial has established laws and regulations governing effective compliance for more than 8,000 companies registered in the centre, which reflects Dubai’s continued commitment to global standards and its vision to be at the forefront of the digital economy.”

The “Cross-Border Privacy Rules System” certifies organizations’ compliance with the requirements of specific programs for the transfer of cross-border personal data, and in 2022, the announcement of the establishment of the “Global Cross-border Privacy Rules Forum” was published, which is a framework that is not limited to countries in the Asia-Pacific region, but includes all parts of the world, to facilitate the transfer of cross-border personal data on a broader scale.