At the invitation of Mr. Safar Mehdiyev, Chairman of Azerbaijan’s State Customs Committee, acting in his capacity as Vice-Chair for the WCO Europe region, Dr. Kunio Mikuriya, WCO Secretary General, attended the Europe Region Heads of Customs Meeting held online on 8 June 2021.

In his opening remarks, Mr. Mehdiyev described the activities carried out by Azerbaijan during his tenure as Vice-Chair and expressed his gratitude to the region’s Members for their cooperation. In his address, Dr. Mikuriya updated the participants on recent WCO initiatives and conveyed his appreciation for Members' active involvement in the Organization’s programmes.

The Meeting participants listened to a number of presentations on topics to be taken up at the forthcoming Council Session as well as on the activities of the Regional Office for Capacity Building (ROCB) and Regional Intelligence Liaison Offices (RILOs). The participants also supported Uzbekistan Customs' proposal to establish a Regional Customs Laboratory.

At the end of the Meeting, several Members thanked Azerbaijan Customs for its leadership over the past two years, especially under the challenging conditions as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. They also welcomed Mr. Konstantinos Mourtidis, Director General of Greece Customs and Excise, as the next Vice-Chair for the WCO Europe region.