Americas and Caribbean Regional Meeting discusses priorities and shares best practices

29 April 2021

At the invitation of the Director General of Guatemala Customs, Mr. Werner Ovalle Ramírez, in his capacity as WCO Vice-Chair, the WCO Secretary General Dr. Kunio Mikuriya participated in the Heads of Customs Meeting of the Americas/Caribbean Region, hosted by Peru Customs (SUNAT) on 22 April 2021.

The Meeting participants discussed regional priorities and shared their best practices relating to the WCO theme for this year, “Recovery, Renewal and Resilience for a Sustainable Supply Chain”.

Speaking at the opening ceremony, Secretary General Mikuriya expressed his thanks to Vice-Chair Ovalle Ramírez for the effective communication and coordination in the Region at this difficult time.  He also thanked SUNAT for hosting the Meeting and congratulated it on the inauguration of the Regional Customs Laboratory. In addition, Dr. Mikuriya commended SUNAT on its recent webinar aimed at sharing expertise on chemical analysis with the Region's Members. He went on to describe WCO’s current priorities and new working methods.

The Minister of Economy and Finance of Peru, Mr. Waldo Mendoza, stressed the importance of Customs in revenue collection, trade facilitation and the protection of society at borders.

The Vice-Chair shared a noteworthy report on regional activities and discussed other WCO topics and regional administrative matters.

The WCO Deputy Secretary General, Mr. Ricardo Treviño Chapa, explained the WCO Strategic Plan and the process it follows, as well as the Regional Strategy Update for the Authorized Economic Operator (AEO) Programme.

The Meeting also gave the Region's Members an opportunity to share experiences in the following areas, based on the WCO’s theme for 2021 : Recovery - innovative facilitation approach and E-Commerce; Renewal – focus on modernization; and Resilience – developing new competences for Customs officers and adopting the right perspective on gender.

All the Meeting participants enjoyed the hospitality extended by Peru and the sharing of Peruvian Customs' national experience by its Director General of Customs, Ms. Marilu Llerena.