Alexandria, 27 April to 2 May 2015

Upon request by the Director General of Egypt Customs, the WCO organized a five-day National Workshop on the Revised Kyoto Convention (RKC) which was held in Alexandria (Egypt) from 27 April to 2 May 2015. It was hosted at the National Customs Institute being also one of the WCO regional training centers for the MENA Region. The National Workshop was attended by 48 Customs officials from the core departments of the Directorate General and regional Directorates, and by one representative of the Ministry of Trade. The main purpose of the Workshop was to inform all participants of the importance and the benefits of the RKC, and to support them in its proper implementation as soon as possible. The Workshop was introduced by a session dedicated to the presentation of the WTO Agreement on Trade facilitation, the importance of the RKC in that respect and the role of the WCO in its implementation with a focus on the Mercator Programme.

This Workshop was facilitated by two experts from the WCO Secretariat and Mauritius Customs who shared their knowledge of the RKC and their experience of comparative analysis of the discrepancies between the RKC and national legislation. The quality of the discussions at various points during the Workshop reflected the participants’ deep interest in questions concerning the simplification and harmonization of procedures at borders. This practical work led to a complete comparison of the national legislation with all provisions of the RKC included in the General annex as well as the Specific annexes.

The Workshop’s opening and closing ceremonies were presided over by the Head of the Regional Training Centre on behalf of the Director General of Customs, She observed, in particular, that implementation of the RKC is included in the national strategy adopted by Egypt Customs to develop its Customs systems during the upcoming years and would help Egypt to further facilitate trade by drastically reducing the time required for Customs clearance and to confront the scourges of smuggling, counterfeiting and piracy.

Participants regarded the Workshop as a great success, that significantly enhanced their understanding of the provisions of the RKC. The Workshop ended with a commitment of Egypt Customs to review their reservations against some recommended practices in the near future. The WCO Secretariat will continue to support Egypt Customs in its endeavours to modernize and especially in implementing the RKC.