Dubai, United Arab Emirates; 24 May 2024: The Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) Courts has further cemented relations with one of Asia’s leading financial centres through a cooperation agreement with The Law Society of Hong Kong.
The MoU was signed as part of a Hong Kong delegation visit, which also included Mr. 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, H.E. Justice Omar Al Mheiri, Director, 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. This has been our experience; that collaborative relationships serve not just the organisations involved, but, more importantly, the overall good of the communities we serve.”
Devised as a mandate for knowledge sharing and cooperation, resulting collaboration through memoranda activities serve as a mechanism to foster investor confidence and cultivate further access to justice. This memorandum with The Law Society of Hong Kong will also aid closer relations between two leading common law institutions, as well as facilitating more confidence for businesses from Hong Kong and the UAE transacting between two of Asia’s leading financial centres.
Mr. C. M. Chan, President, The Law Society of Hong Kong, said “We are grateful to have the DIFC Courts’ continuous support and participation at The Law Society of Hong Kong’s events in the past. I am pleased that we are now taking this relationship to new heights by formalising a Memorandum of Understanding - the first agreement of its kind between The Law Society of Hong Kong and a Middle East courts system. It represents a new chapter underscoring our shared belief in the power of international cooperation and exchange to strengthen our respective legal frameworks.
Through this partnership, we hope to facilitate knowledge sharing, training programmes, and mutually supportive initiatives. By working together, I am confident that we can make invaluable contributions to the legal profession and the business community in our respective jurisdictions and beyond.”
In early 2024, Hong Kong confirmed its ongoing strong trade relations with the UAE, and the Emirates pivotal role as a trade hub for Hong Kong in the Middle East region. Hong Kong's Census and Statistics Department confirmed in 2024 that non-oil foreign trade value between the two sides 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. The HKTDC also confirmed in early 2024 the eagerness of Hong Kong companies to invest in UAE economy sectors, including infrastructure, information technology, financial technology (Fintech), health technology, and bio-health.
This newest cooperation agreement between UAE and Hong Kong entities follows various DIFC Courts visits to Mainland China and Hong Kong over the past decade, in which memoranda were signed with the Shanghai High People’s Court in 2016, the Hangzhou Arbitration Commission in 2017, and the Hong Kong High Court in 2018.
