The WCO MENA Heads of Customs Regional Meeting was held under the chairmanship of Mr. Jalal Al-Qudah, the Director General of Jordan Customs in his capacity as the Vice-Chair for the MENA region, Dr. Kunio Mikuriya, the Secretary General of the World Customs Organization (WCO), participated in the MENA regional meeting of Customs Directors General, held in Cairo on 27 February 2023.
In his opening remarks, Dr. Mikuriya spoke about the theme of the year and the ongoing work of the WCO regarding the important focus areas such as data, fragile borders and green Customs. He provided an update on the finances of the WCO, including the use of additional languages. The meeting discussed the follow-up to the Policy Commission’s deliberations in December 2022 and also heard the progress report by the regional entities, including the Regional Office for Capacity Building (ROCB) and the Regional Intelligence Liaison Offices (RILOs).
The Directors General further discussed the issue of priorities and agreed to continue seconding a regional technical attaché at the WCO to further enhance cooperation and increase the effectiveness of the support provided to the region.