The newly appointed Vice-Minister of Foreign Trade of Costa Rica, Mr. Jhon Fonseca, met with WCO Secretary General Kunio Mikuriya at WCO Headquarters, on 13 May 2014, on the occasion of his first foreign mission as Vice-Minister.

The Vice-Minister has been a well- known figure in the international Customs community as a member of the PICARD (Partnership in Customs Academic Research and Development) Advisory Group, representing the University of Costa Rica, to enhance partnership between Customs and universities and research institutes. He was accompanied by officials from the Ministry of Foreign Trade and by the Ambassador of Costa Rica in Belgium, His Excellency Mr. Istvan Alfaro Solano, and his staff. 

Vice-Minister Fonseca talked about enhancing coordination between Customs and the Ministry of Foreign Trade in his country, particularly in implementing the WTO Agreement on Trade Facilitation, and about advancing the Single Window project at the national level, which could also serve to assist regional integration in the future. 

Secretary General Mikuriya congratulated Mr. Fonseca on his new appointment and offered his full support for Customs modernization in Costa Rica and Customs’ collaboration with the Ministry of Foreign Trade to promote economic competitiveness.