The General Directorate of Residency and Foreigners Affairs in Dubai (GDRFA-Dubai) has signed an agreement  with Samsung International SDS for the Middle East and Africa to build an innovation lab within GDRFA facilities.

The lab will focus on developing and testing new solutions and concepts based on GDRFA services and customer data, thus making GDRFA Dubai the first government institution in the country to incubate young innovators.

 The memorandum of understanding (MoU)  was signed by Major General Mohammed Al Marri, director general of GDRFA Dubai and Dr WonPyo Hong, Samsung SDS - global president & CEO, as part of an official Samsung visit to the GDRFA Dubai.

 Major General Al Marri, director general of GDRFA said: "Our cooperation with Samsung opens future prospects for GDRFA Dubai in the embrace of talent and creativity of youth in the UAE, adding that the Department will cooperate with Samsung in the work of innovative laboratories that will be organized periodically in the innovation and creativity centre in GDRFA Dubai.”

“This contributes to making Dubai an integrated global platform to embrace and create a generation of innovative minds in the future and technology solutions to attract the best minds of the world to experience and apply their innovations in department laboratories nationwide.

“Cooperation with Samsung is a new start in the field of cooperation with a world leader in the field of modern technology, representing international importance in the field of information technology and networks,” he added.

 "The incubation of these laboratories will include innovative ideas based on a deep understanding of the needs of the next stages of work, and to employ all possibilities to continue the achievements of the UAE on the regional and international arenas." Al Marri said.

 The MoU stipulates that both parties discuss business opportunities of mutual interest in IT innovation and joint work between Samsung and the innovation and creativity centre in GDRFA Dubai by collaborating in building an innovation lab within GDRFA facilities for developing and testing new solutions concepts based on GDRFA services & customer’s data.

 The MoU also stipulates utilizing real GDRFA data to develop models for refining and analyzing all the main areas of work in GDRFA including ports (air, sea and land), entry permits and residence, and follow-up of offenders and foreigners.

Brigadier Awad Al Awaim, director general assistant of Human Resources and Finance Sector in GDRFA Dubai, represented the signing of the MoU, and Silkwon Lee, CEO of Samsung SDS Middle East & Africa represented Samsung. – TradeArabia News Service