IATA Annual General Meeting and World Air Transport Summit
Singapore, 5-7 June 2011
Report
At the invitation of the International Air Transport Association (IATA), WCO Secretary General Kunio Mikuriya attended IATA's 67th Annual General Meeting and World Air Transport Summit held in Singapore from 5-7 June 2011.
The Secretary General participated in an executive panel session on "Aviation in a Dangerous World" together with three airline CEOs and the heads of INTERPOL and the US Transport Security Administration. He explained the work of the WCO on air cargo security and its partnership approach with relevant international organizations, in addition to stressing the importance of sharing timely and quality information which will enable Customs authorities to analyze risk for security purposes.
While in Singapore, Secretary General Mikuriya met IATA's outgoing Director General and CEO, Giovanni Bisignani and his successor, Anthony Tyler (the former Chief Executive of Cathay Pacific) who emphasized the growing need to tackle air cargo security. They all agreed on the necessity to further enhance cooperation between the WCO and IATA in line with the renewed MoU, signed this March, to support one another in implementing the standards of each organization.