On 8 July 2013, WCO Secretary General Kunio Mikuriya met the Secretary General of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), Mr. Raymond Benjamin, and the Secretary General of the International Maritime Organization (IMO), Mr. Koji Sekimizu, at IMO Headquarters in London to consider further stepping up collaboration between the three Organizations in the fields of aviation, border and maritime security and facilitation.
In a spirit of cooperation, the Secretaries General held strategic discussions on cross-cutting supply chain risk management issues, recognizing that international cooperation is fundamental in fulfilling the mandates and achieving the objectives of their respective Organizations.
Taking the global dimensions of terrorism and crime into consideration, they agreed that transport security and border control measures should have a minimal adverse impact on international trade and underpin efficient and resilient global supply chains.
The Secretaries General exchanged information on progress in further developing and harmonizing the international frameworks for aviation, border and maritime supply chain security and facilitation under their respective instruments.
They acknowledged the potential impact of major disruption at critical transport nodes on global supply chains and expressed the need to manage risks in a holistic and system-oriented manner. The importance of innovation and creative thinking to optimize security and facilitation of international transport and trade was stressed during the meeting.
Secretaries General Mikuriya, Benjamin and Sekimizu underlined the need for joint technical assistance and cooperation efforts to address vulnerabilities in global supply chain security and grasp opportunities to enhance trade facilitation. They undertook to promote dialogue at state level between transport security and Customs authorities to enhance information sharing, align national legal frameworks and requirements, and maximize synergies.
The Secretaries General agreed to meet again in a trilateral setting to review progress in this area.