An On-line pre-Accreditation Workshop for Spanish-speaking experts on Authorized Economic Operator (AEO) from the Americas and Caribbean Region (AMS) was held from 3 May to 9 May 2022, with the financial support of the Korea Customs Cooperation Fund (CCF-Korea).
Due to the increasing needs of WCO Members for Capacity Building support for the development and enhancement of AEO programme implementation and Mutual Recognition Arrangement/Agreement (MRA) negotiation, particularly from Spanish-speaking Members in the AMS region, the Secretariat organized this online pre-Accreditation Workshop in the area of AEO.
The event was organized with the objective of setting up a pool of Spanish-speaking Technical and Operational Advisors capable of independently leading, on behalf of the WCO for its Members, Capacity Building missions in the field of AEO. In his capacity as the WCO Vice-Chair for the AMS region, the Director General of Guatemala Customs, Mr. Werner Ovalle Ramírez, delivered opening remarks highlighting the importance of the event and congratulating all the candidates for being selected to participate in the workshop.
Ten selected candidates from ten Member Administrations of the region took part in the Workshop. Mr. Carlos Ochoa, a WCO recognized expert in AEO and the Chief - Standards, Policy and Communications, CTPAT Headquarters, the United States Customs Border Protection (CBP), joined the workshop as a co-facilitator. Participants from Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Guatemala, Nicaragua, Panama, Peru, Uruguay and the United States worked intensively and demonstrated their knowledge and skills to deliver Capacity Building activities in the area of AEO. Moreover, the Workshop served as a forum for sharing knowledge and experience, as well as discussing challenges and solutions on various topics around AEO implementation and MRAs.
The participants that successfully completed the Accreditation Workshop will be invited to the next stage of the WCO expert accreditation process, including national/regional workshops as a pre-qualified WCO expert in the area of AEO. Fully accredited experts will be expected to conduct future WCO Capacity Building activities.