As Turkmenistan is strongly considering its accession to the International Convention on the Simplification and Harmonization of Customs Procedures (Revised Kyoto Convention), the World Customs Organization (WCO) delivered a high-level Workshop on the process and benefits of the accession to this important Convention for the State Customs Service of Turkmenistan and all relevant ministries and agencies. The Workshop was delivered online on 18 September 2020 with the support of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Turkmenistan and, the Embassy of Turkmenistan in Brussels, Belgium. The Workshop was attended by high ranking officials from the State Customs Service, the Ministry of Finance and Economics, the Ministry of Trade and Foreign Economic Relations, the Ministry of Agriculture and Natural Protection, the State Border Service, the ‘Türkmenstandartlary’ Main State Service, the State Commodity and Raw Materials Exchange, the Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs and the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Turkmenistan.

The main objective of the workshop was to provide a clear and precise understanding of the rules and provisions of the Revised Kyoto Convention. This includes, among others, the scope, structure and other background information on the RKC; the benefits of accession to and implementation of the RKC; the rights and obligations of Contracting parties as well as the specific steps needed for the accession.

The WCO experts provided detailed guidance on the principles of the RKC, the rights and obligations of the Contracting Parties to the Convention, as well as the provisions of the Body, the General Annex and the Specific Annexes thereof. With the support of WCO experts, it is envisaged that State Customs Service of Turkmenistan will conduct an assessment of the compliance of the provisions of the RKC vis-à-vis Turkmenistan’s national legislation. As part of the exercise, follow-up measures will be outlined in the areas where the national legislation is found not to be in full compliance with the RKC provisions, bearing in mind that, according to the Convention, any Contracting party has three years for the implementation of Standards and five years for the implementation of Transitional Standards.

At the end of the one-day workshop, the WCO experts expressed their appreciation and reiterated the readiness of the WCO to support the State Customs Service of Turkmenistan in their path to accession to the RKC. At the same time, the participants expressed their satisfaction and highlighted the relevance and timeliness of this important, in the light of the process of their country’s accession to Revised Kyoto Convention.