Joint statement on the data bridge between the UK and the Dubai International Financial Centre
Published 15 December 2022
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Today, and on behalf of the UK government and Dubai International Financial Centre Authority (DIFC), the UK Minister of State for Media, Data and Digital Infrastructure, Julia Lopez MP, and Arif Amiri, Chief Executive Officer of DIFC Authority, together with Jacques Visser, the DIFC Commissioner of Data Protection have issued this statement on the shared commitment to deepening the UK-DIFC data partnership:
1. The UK and The United Arab Emirates are, and have always been, innovative and forward-looking partners and have shared a strong bilateral relationship and long standing friendship since 1892. In the modern day, this partnership is echoed through UK-UAE cooperation on investment and trade, research and development, as well as ongoing commitments to strengthening both economies. There are over 5,000 UK companies operating in the UAE, many of which depend on the free and secure flow of safe data across borders. Established in 2004, the DIFC is a financial free zone which acts as a financial hub for the Middle East, Africa, and South Asia (MEASA) markets. The UK and DIFC have strong links in this regard, with 16 percent of DIFC’s financial service companies originally based in the UK.
2. We have made significant progress, including obtaining feedback from the UAE government, towards building a robust data bridge: a framework which will facilitate the free and secure flow of personal data following an assessment of the laws and practices that protect data to high standards. Since August 2021, there have been numerous positive, productive, and enlightening technical discussions on how our respective jurisdictions value, protect, and promote the protection of personal data, including when personal data is accessed by government authorities. We also note the issuance of the recent Public Authority Personal Data Sharing Presidential Directive, which lays down requirements for the provision of personal data by DIFC entities to public authorities. The DIFC has already recognised the UK’s strong data protections and the UK is now in the advanced stages of its technical data protection assessment of the DIFC.
3. We agree that the protection of personal data and free flow of personal data across borders can be mutually reinforcing priorities. We are committed to working together to realise the benefits of the important role that the trustworthy use of data across borders plays in international commerce, responsible innovation, and research as well as in empowering, protecting, and delivering better outcomes for individuals, and in sustaining peaceful and prosperous societies.
4. We are committed to the pursuit of a closer UK-DIFC partnership on data flows as a way of realising untapped economic growth. International data transfers underpin modern day business transactions and financial services. They help streamline supply chain management and allow for financial inclusion, so that businesses anywhere – particularly those in the MEASA region with ties to the UK – can scale and trade globally.
5. We recognise the importance of existing and future regulatory cooperation as a means of enhancing our objectives and we are pleased to announce progress on a new Memorandum of Understanding on data. There are several existing Memoranda of Understanding between UK and DIFC regulators, such as the UK Financial Conduct Authority and the Dubai Financial Services Authority. Today’s announcement of progress made on a new memorandum of understanding between the UK government and the DIFC Authority on regulatory cooperation on data will encourage closer cooperation on data-related matters. In turn, this will support and sustain our work to promote high data protection standards and international data flows in the context of our objectives on growth, trade, and prosperity.
6. We recognise the importance of designing and delivering more scalable solutions that meet the global challenges and opportunities on data. We agree to work together, with our other strategic partners, and stakeholders across the spectrum of industry and civil society on more global initiatives, such as the Global Cross-Border Privacy Rules Forum.
7. We look forward to our continued work and we underscore our commitment to the UK-DIFC data bridge that will further realise the benefits of the deep and long-standing friendship between the UK and UAE.