Georgetown, Guyana, 28-31 May 2018

The World Customs Organization (WCO) and the Universal Postal Union (UPU) with the support of Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) and the Guyana Post Office Corporation (GPOC) organized a joint Customs-Post Workshop for the Caribbean Sub-Region from 28 to 31 May 2018 in Georgetown, Guyana.

In their opening remarks, Mrs. Catherine Hughes, Minister for Public Telecommunications, Mrs. Hema Khan, GRA Deputy Commissioner General, and Ms. Karen Brown, Postmaster General of Guyana highlighted the need for an enhanced collaboration and the exchange of information between Customs and Post to better leverage new opportunities stemming from growing E-Commerce and to collectively meet current and emerging challenges in the postal supply chain.

The Joint Workshop was attended by over 50 participants representing Customs administrations and designated postal operators from 19 countries/jurisdictions of the Caribbean Sub-Region: Antigua & Barbuda, Aruba, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Bermuda, Bonaire, Cayman Islands, Curacao, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, St. Kitts & Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Vincent & the Grenadines, Suriname and Trinidad & Tobago.

The Workshop enhanced participants’ knowledge of the relevant WCO and UPU instruments and tools in terms of strengthening existing cooperative relationships between Customs and postal operators at the national level, in particular the electronic exchange of advance information. Additionally, participants learned practical aspects of the implementation of the exchange of advance electronic data and security measures from the experts of United States Postal Service (USPS), Canada Post, La Poste, and Royal Mail.

Participants acknowledged the importance of the joint workshop that provided, among others, a common platform to discuss issues of mutual interest and explore potential solutions at the regional level in achieving shared objectives, besides learning from others’ working examples and best practices.