Ulaanbaatar, 19-20 October 2012
Report
At the invitation of the Director General of Mongolian Customs, Tseveenjav Derjee, the Secretary General of the WCO, Kunio Mikuriya, visited Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia on 19 and 20 October 2012 to celebrate the centenary of Mongolia's Customs administration.
On 19 October the international academic conference entitled "National Security - Globally Networked Customs" was held in the Convention Hall at the Blue Sky Tower where participants reviewed the progress in Customs reform and its future direction. The celebration meeting at the Central Cultural Palace was joined by the Minister of Finance, senior government officials and several Directors General and senior representatives of foreign Customs administrations, in addition to serving and veteran Mongolian Customs officers.
Secretary General Mikuriya delivered a congratulatory speech in which he recalled the efforts by Mongolian Customs to adopt new technologies, implement WCO standards and put in place effective human resource development policies. He maintained that Customs' role is important to sustain economic development in Mongolia which is currently backed by rich natural resources and through the enhancement of connectivity at borders.
The Secretary General also stressed the need to enhance the fight against growing illicit trade, such as drug trafficking and counterfeiting. In this connection he welcomed Mongolian Customs' recent initiatives to develop a partnership with business and to implement a Single Window as well as coordinated border management. He also praised Mongolia's decision to establish an e-learning laboratory following the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) he signed with Director General Tseveenjav in 2009 to address the training needs of young officers, in particular those working at borders in remote locations, and the ongoing strategic planning support provided by the WCO.
Mongolian Customs organized a series of bilateral meetings with invited Customs administrations to enhance international cooperation and concluded a few MoUs. Secretary General Mikuriya also had the opportunity to meet the Minister of Finance, Chultem Ulaan, who wished to enhance cooperation with the WCO to support Customs reform.
The celebration continued on 20 October with three traditional sporting events organized by Customs. These events included horse racing and archery in the open air in the morning blessed by blue skies and wrestling at the national wrestling arena under snow in the evening. All participants appreciated the excellent organization and warm hospitality of Mongolian Customs and wished the Director General and his officials well for the future.