India all set to take over as head of Asia Pacific region of World Customs Organisation

New Delhi, July 16: India is all set to take as head of the Asia Pacific region of the World Customs Organisation (WCO). Notably, India will assume as Vice Chair of the Asia Pacific region of the World Customs Organisation (WCO) on Monday at an event that has been organized in New Delhi.

 

Being the Vice Chair of AP Region of WCO will enable India to take on a leadership role. India is a wealth of experience inpromoting security and facilitation of cross-border trade. The event will be attended by the Customs delegations of 33 countries of the Asia-Pacific Region, Customs officers from different Ports in India, Partner Government Agencies and representatives from the trade among others.

The Secretary-General of WCO, Kuniyo Mikuriya will deliver the Key Note Address, while Heads of Customs from Japan and Fiji, and senior officials from Korea, Singapore, China among others, shall participate in the Ceremony. The underlying Theme of the Inaugural Ceremony is “Customs – Fostering Trade Facilitation”

The Ceremony shall be followed by a Seminar on Cross-Border Trade through e-commerce and the role of Customs administration. The Seminar would focus on the framework of standards spearheaded by WCO to cope with the exponential growth in e-commerce shipments and the tsunami of parcels that cross borders every day.

Recognizing that e-commerce has become a Game Changer in the International Trade Arena, bringing in the efficiency of clearance and delivery of low value and high volume shipments has become a matter of critical interest for every Customs administration.

WCO represents 182 Customs administrations across the globe that collectively process approximately 98% of world trade. As the global centre of Customs expertise, the WCO is the only international organization with competence in Customs matters and can rightly call itself the voice of the international Customs community.