On 29 and 30 April 2021, the WCO Deputy Secretary General, Mr. Ricardo Treviño Chapa, participated in the XLI Meeting of Directors General of Customs of Latin America countries, Spain and Portugal.
This event was held virtually as part of the annual Meeting on the Multilateral Agreement on Mutual Assistance and Cooperation (COMALEP), with Peru as this year’s host country.
This Meeting brought together representatives of the 21 COMALEP signatory countries and delegates from government agencies and the private sector. It provides a platform for Members to exchange experiences and best practices in the trade facilitation domain.
Deputy Secretary General Treviño Chapa opened the Meeting along with the WCO Vice-Chair for the Americas/Caribbean Region, Mr. Werner Ovalle Ramírez, the Deputy National Superintendent of Peru Customs (SUNAT), Mrs. Marilú Llerena, and the International Affairs Administrator of Mexico Customs (SAT) and Permanent Representative to the COMALEP Secretariat, Mr. Juan de Dios Vázquez.
On this occasion, Mr. Treviño Chapa gave a presentation on the WCO Data Analytics Capacity Building Project (BACUDA - BAnd of CUstoms Data Analysts), one of the Organization’s strategic tools aimed at raising awareness and building data analytics capacity for Customs administrations.
The Meeting was split into several panel sessions that discussed important topics including Customs cooperation during the COVID-19 pandemic to facilitate trade and prevent trafficking of counterfeit goods, combating of corruption and information sharing, to name but a few.