Stakeholder Conference for the Palestinian Revenue and Customs Economic Development Programme

Ramallah (Palestine), 24-25 May 2009

Report

WCO supports capacity building in Palestine Customs

Palestine Customs, in cooperation with the WCO and its Regional Office for Capacity Building for the Middle East & North Africa, organized the Stakeholder Conference for the Palestinian Revenue and Customs Economic Development Programme in Ramallah (Palestine) from 24 to 25 May 2009. Political leaders, international donors and other stakeholders gathered to garner support for the launch of the “Al Siyadeh (Sovereignty)” Programme aimed at modernizing Palestine Customs based on WCO standards. This is part of the WCO Columbus Programme’s Phase II (implementation) which follows the successful completion of Phase I (diagnostic) and subsequent actions.

In his keynote speech – click here to read the speech – the WCO Secretary General, Kunio Mikuriya, reviewed the challenging customs environment which was overshadowed by security concerns. He expressed his full support for Palestine Customs’ capacity building programme on behalf of the international customs community, whose solidarity was demonstrated by the participation of Directors General and senior officials of customs administrations around the world at the conference.

International organizations and a range of donors, including the WTO, UNCTAD, USAID, the EU, the ADETEF, and representatives of other governments joined the conference to pledge their support for customs reform and modernization, viewed as the cornerstone of state building in Palestine. The Head of Israeli Customs, Mr. Doron Arbely, sent a video message to express his support for capacity building in Palestine Customs, led by his Palestinian counterpart Mr. Hatem Yousef.