Dubai, United Arab Emirates | October 2026
TradeKins collaborated with
Dubai's Security Industry Regulatory Agency (SIRA) to deliver a specialised capacity-building programme on the regulation, control and detection of dual-use goods, bringing Singapore's experience in strategic trade management to government officials responsible for regulatory oversight, customs enforcement and national security.
Hosted at SIRA's headquarters in Dubai, the programme brought together representatives from Dubai Customs, the Executive Office for Control and Non-Proliferation, Dubai Police and other relevant authorities.
The collaboration reflects a growing recognition that effective strategic trade controls require more than comprehensive legislation. They depend equally on the ability of regulatory institutions to assess transactions, identify potential diversion risks and coordinate appropriate responses without unnecessarily impeding legitimate commerce.
From regulatory frameworks to effective implementation
Dual-use goods present a particular challenge for governments. Many have legitimate industrial, scientific or commercial applications, yet may also be diverted towards unauthorised military, proliferation-related or other prohibited end-uses.
Distinguishing legitimate transactions from those warranting closer scrutiny requires an understanding not only of the goods themselves, but also of their intended applications, the parties involved, their destinations and the wider circumstances of the transaction.
Against this backdrop, the programme examined practical aspects of strategic trade regulation, including risk-based licensing assessments, end-user and end-use evaluation, diversion indicators, compliance monitoring, inspection, investigations and enforcement decision-making.
Through applied case studies and scenario-based exercises, participants considered how regulatory authorities can identify concerns, evaluate available information and determine appropriate courses of action.
Strengthening inter-agency coordination
A further focus was the importance of coordination among licensing authorities, customs administrations, investigative bodies and other government agencies.
Potential diversion risks rarely present themselves neatly within the mandate of a single institution. Information held by customs authorities, for example, may become more significant when considered alongside licensing records, commercial documentation or intelligence available to other agencies.
Effective oversight therefore requires clear institutional responsibilities, appropriate information-sharing arrangements and the ability to translate fragmented information into informed regulatory decisions.
These considerations are particularly relevant to major international trading and logistics centres, where the efficient movement of goods must be accompanied by credible safeguards against misuse and illicit diversion.
Advancing international knowledge exchange
The engagement also provided an opportunity to share relevant aspects of Singapore's experience in strategic trade controls and risk-based regulatory practices.
SIRA's initiative forms part of its broader efforts to strengthen specialised capabilities and institutional partnerships under Dubai's regulatory framework for dual-use goods, including Decree No. 25 of 2021.
For TradeKins, the collaboration reflects its continuing work with public-sector institutions to strengthen the practical implementation of strategic trade controls, bringing together regulatory expertise, operational experience and applied learning.
As international trade and technology supply chains evolve, the challenge for regulatory authorities is not simply to impose more controls, but to ensure that existing controls are applied consistently and proportionately.
