At the invitation of Mr. Alfonso Rojas, President of the Association of Professional Customs Brokers of the Americas (ASAPRA), WCO Deputy Secretary General Sergio Mujica attended the 45th General Assembly of ASAPRA held in Punta del Este, Uruguay, on 29 and 30 October 2014. The main topic of the meeting was "The key role of Customs brokers for commercial development and prosperity in Latin America".
During the opening ceremony, the ASAPRA President recognized the WCO's leadership in fostering a positive environment that promotes Customs modernization and economic competitiveness. Mr. Rojas also thanked WCO Secretary General Mikuriya for having hosted ASAPRA’s General Assembly at WCO Headquarters in Brussels in 2013.
In his keynote speech, Deputy Secretary General Mujica presented the main activities and developments of the WCO during the last year, emphasizing the WCO’s role to support consistent and effective implementation of the WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement, as well as the WCO Mercator Programme.