“I do feel like I am at home here, with family”, said WTO Director-General Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala while opening the 2025 June sessions of the WCO Council, the governing body of the Organization.
Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, who had been Nigeria’s Finance Minister for seven years and had Customs under her responsibility, called the WCO Council to continue working with the WTO to ensure that border procedures are not a barrier to trade, but a bridge to secure predictable and legal trade, and to help achieve the WTO’s purpose of enhancing living standards, helping create jobs and supporting sustainable development.
WCO and WTO partnership
“Policies designed to ensure that trade flows smoothly, securely, and predictably are only as effective as the Customs and border agencies that implement them. That is why this strong partnership between the WTO and the WCO built over years matters so much”, she said to the heads of Customs administrations attending the June 2025 sessions of the WCO Council.
While highlighting current joint or complementary work conducted by both organizations and how it makes a difference for officials at ports of entry and delivers concrete benefits to WCO and WTO Members and the people they serve, she explained that concerted action is also needed in areas such as the fight against illicit financial flows, illicit trade and the effective use of technologies, especially artificial intelligence, to ensure that developing countries are not left behind.
“The work the trade and Customs communities do together […] matters in people's lives. In spite of all the progress we have made, there is still lots to do to make borders work better for people, work better for trade, especially in developing countries”, she concluded.
Trade policy and mechanics of trade
Dr. Okonjo-Iweala’s sentiment was echoed by WCO Secretary General, Ian Saunders, who in his speech also stressed the benefits of a more explicit and deliberate connection between trade policymakers and Customs administrations. “You have provided an inspiring start to our Council sessions. Your words will remain with us in the same way as our shared goal of ensuring that international trade is better able to produce the benefits that it should for global society in the work to advance transparency, predictability, efficiency, security, and the health of trade”, he said to the WTO Director General.
Reflecting on the WCO and WTO’s relationship, Secretary General Saunders said, “the history of the WCO and WTO’s relationship has yielded a number of critical tools that bring consistency and predictability of practice in the management of goods movements around the world. Ours has been a relationship forged out of a recognition that fulfilling the intent of trade policy requires faithful application and operational feasibility. Perhaps more simply stated, one of the real-world expressions of trade policy often is the requirements and procedures encountered at borders.”
Edward Kieswetter, Chairperson of the WCO Council and Commissioner for the South African Revenue Service (SARS), thanked Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala for helping the Council understand that, together, the WTO and the WCO can achieve more and for shedding light on the purpose that the WTO and the WCO serve and the impact they have on the lives of the people. “Being reminded of the interdependency between the work of the WCO and the WTO is helpful as we clarify our own work plan. Your words will guide us over the next few days”, he declared.
