The aim of the representative office is to further bilateral cooperation between the United Arab Emirates and Taiwan in the fields of economics, culture, education and research. In addition, it offers consular services and the consular jurisdiction of the office also extends to Eritrea, Iran and Somalia.[2][3]
In May 1979, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Republic of China established an honorary consulate in Dubai, the largest city in the United Arab Emirates. In July 1980, it was upgraded to the honorary consulate general. In May 1988, it was renamed to Commercial Office of the Republic of China to Dubai, making it one of the few Taiwanese missions that used the name 'Republic of China' in countries which adhere to the one-China policy. On 14 June 2017, due to diplomatic pressure from the People's Republic of China, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of China changed the name of the office to The Commercial Office of Taipei, Dubai, U.A.E.[4][5][6]