10th CAREC Customs Cooperation Committee Meeting

The CAREC Customs Cooperation Committee (CCC) held its 10th Annual Meeting to

• update senior customs officials in the 10 participating countries on progress in the priority areas for customs cooperation and facilitate sharing of lessons learned in implementing projects;
• discuss the medium-term priority projects for trade facilitation;
• update CCC members on progress in preparing the proposed Regional Improvement of Border Services (RIBS) project;
• discuss the possible impact of the Russian Federation–Belarus–Kazakhstan (RuBeKa) Customs Union on CCC priority areas; and
• discuss ways to streamline the business processes of the CCC.

Keynote speaker Mr. Takashi Matsumoto, External Relations Coordinator, Office of the Secretary General of the World Customs Organization (WCO) gave an overview of new WCO tools for trade facilitation. He emphasized the need for CAREC countries to implement a new strategic direction for customs in the 21st century. He also expressed WCO’s willingness to continue supporting CAREC customs cooperation initiatives in partnership with the Asian Development Bank by organizing joint projects, conducting capacity building activities, and advocating for adoption of international standards.

The Azerbaijan State Customs Committee hosted and chaired this year’s meeting that was attended by heads and/or deputy heads of customs administrations and their representatives from Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, the People’s Republic of China, Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic, Mongolia, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan.