In collaboration with the Ministry of Economy, the Sharjah Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SCCI), held a workshop entitled, (The Combat Against Commercial Fraud and Counterfeiting). The workshop seeks to create an economic environment that provides an atmosphere of stability and confidence to the business community, investors and the public.

For his part, Mohammed Ahmed Amin, Assistant Director-General for Communication and business at SCCI, voiced his fears over this alarming issue, saying that commercial fraud has become an international concern, which will require intense efforts to confront, through the development of systems that limit it from expanding, as well searching for effective counter-strategies to contain this widespread concern.

Moreover, Amin pointed out that for many years now, the UAE has been working firmly to eliminate this threat on a national level, through supporting awareness schemes bound for the business community. It also calls on all to abide by and comply with the technical, legal and official measures put forward and adopted, as well raise as consumer awareness.

Also, Assistant Director General of the Chamber said such an initiative, that aims to spread awareness, is a set example of constructive cooperation and partnership between the public and private sectors in the country, that aim to protect the business community in the nation, thus in line with achieving the "UAE Vision 2021 ".

Furthermore, Amin also said that the workshop comes as part of continued efforts following the First Arab Forum of Commercial and industrial forum, organized by Sharjah’s Chamber in March 2011. Al-Hajri also noted that the Chamber is keen to cooperate with the Ministry of Economy, in order to protect the interests of the business community and consumers, most notably following the emergence of E-commerce trading.

For his part, Juma Mubarak Fairouz, Director of the Department of Commerce Control, at the Ministry of Economy stressed that the Ministry considers the fight against commercial fraud and counterfeiting a matter of paramount importance, and works to protect the UAE community from its catastrophic consequences.

He also pointed out that the ministry spares no effort to curb fraud and counterfeiting operations, and is working relentlessly with its partners to combat it on a national level.

The Director of Commercial Control Department pointed out that commercial fraud operations nowadays are targeting products of all kinds, including products that are related to human health and safety, such as food, dietary supplements and cosmetics.

During the workshop, attended by representatives of a number of government and private sector institutions in the country, a worksheet submitted by “Unilever” was discussed. The worksheet was presented by Abdullah Al-Obaidly that mainly focused on the issue of counterfeit and pirate products.

Meanwhile, another worksheet was presented by Manal Al-Hashemi, Director of the Cosmetic Laboratory at Abu Dhabi’s Quality and Conformity Council. At the conclusion of the workshop, the participants watched an educational film linked to the workshop topic