At the invitation of Mr. Xavier Cardenas, Director General of Ecuador Customs, WCO Deputy Secretary General Sergio Mujica attended the launch of Ecuador’s Authorized Economic Operator (AEO) programme in Guayaquil on 18 August 2015.

The Deputy Secretary General delivered a keynote address on the importance of AEO at the global level and congratulated Ecuador on the newly established programme, including the successful completion of the pilot phase with three exporting companies. The ceremony was chaired by Mr. Diego Aulestia, Minister of International Trade of Ecuador, and attended by high-level representatives from Ecuador Customs, other government agencies related to border management and the private sector.

During his mission to Ecuador, Mr. Mujica also met with the Ecuadorian Federation of Exporters and high-level representatives from the private sector, highlighting the importance of the new AEO programme and public-private partnerships. Later he held working meetings with the management team of Ecuador Customs, reviewing the main projects they are working on to further enhance their reform and modernization efforts.

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Photo (from left to right): Xavier Cardenas (Ecuador DG), Diego Aulestia (Minister of International Trade), Víctor Jurado (Executive Director of Pro Ecuador) and Daniel Legarda (Executive Vice President of the Ecuadorian Federation of Exporters).