At the invitation of Mr. Douglas Brittin, Secretary General of The International Air Cargo Association (TIACA), WCO Deputy Secretary General Sergio Mujica attended the 28th International Air Cargo Forum and Exhibition (ACF) held in Paris, France, on 26 and 27 October 2016.
The ACF was attended by 2,500 participants from over 50 countries, including air cargo industry leaders, national regulators and international organizations such as ICAO and the WCO. The agenda of the event focused on the “Vision for the industry”, and covered a wide range of discussion sessions on Customs-related issues, including Cyber Security, the new EU Customs Code, e-Commerce and Pre-loading advance cargo information (PLACI).
Deputy Secretary General Mujica participated in the opening high-level panel “Air Cargo Vision 2020: What Lies Ahead”, together with Dr. Fang Liu, Secretary General of ICAO, and the Secretary General of TIACA. The panel session was introduced by Mr. Sanjiv Edwards, Chairman of TIACA, who described the challenges the industry is facing today, including the need for further standardization and harmonization, and the capacity to evolve and innovate to adapt to an ever-changing world. He invited all stakeholders to make a synchronized and coordinated effort to address these challenges.
Mr. Mujica presented the main WCO instruments and tools designed to support Customs in enhancing economic competitiveness, trade facilitation and air cargo security. He also described the main areas in which the WCO and ICAO are cooperating, and the comprehensive action plan that is currently being implemented.
On the second day of the ACF, Mr. Mujica participated in a new initiative launched by TIACA called “LEADS” (Leaders, Executive and Design Summit), designed to provide a common platform to industry leaders, trade associations and global regulators to deliberate on the key challenges being faced by the air freight industry.
In his keynote address, the WCO Deputy Secretary General presented the trade facilitation initiatives taken by the WCO, including the key priorities for the WCO in contributing to the facilitation of air freight, as well as the main areas where the WCO and the air cargo industry can work together to further enhance their cooperation.