A regional Authorized Economic Operator (AEO) and Mutual Recognition Arrangements / Agreements (MRAs) Workshop for the WCO Asia/Pacific region was held in Seoul, Korea, hosted by the Korean Customs Service from 5 to 9 February 2018. The workshop was funded by the Korean Customs Cooperation Fund (CCF) and supported by the WCO Asia/Pacific Regional Office of Capacity Building (ROCB). Twenty-five representatives from 21 Customs administration attended the workshop.

The workshop provided the platform for dynamic discussion on different aspects of AEO programmes and Mutual Recognition Arrangements / Agreements (MRAs). The workshop started with the basics, namely: what is required in an AEO programme, ensuring there is a robust programme, and what are the next steps to achieve an MRA, among others. A day was set aside to experience a hands on practical validation exercise at an AEO company. The aim was to provide an opportunity to all participants to obtain expertise on how a validation is conducted. A number of WCO tools, such as the AEO and MRA Packages, were also presented. In addition, the participants also discussed how to manage the knowledge acquired for the benefit of the region.

The participants actively participated in all the discussions and exercises and presented the next steps for their administration following the lessons learned from the workshop.

The region boasts twelve (12) operational AEO programmes to-date, four (4) programmes being developed, forty-three (43) MRAs signed with twenty-three (23) additional MRAs being negotiated.