At the invitation of the Director General of Indonesian Customs, Mr. Agung Kuswandono, WCO Secretary General Kunio Mikuriya spoke at the launch of the Authorized Economic Operator (AEO) certification in Jakarta, Indonesia on 17 March 2015.
Following a speech by Indonesia’s Minister of Finance, Mr. Bambang Brodjonegoro, Secretary General Mikuriya presented the global situation with respect to AEO and the way forward with mutual recognition of AEO programmes and coordination with other government agencies on different standards relating to business partnerships, as specified in the upcoming revision of the WCO SAFE Framework of Standards. He also commended the establishment of the Indonesian Customs Contact Center on the same day, bringing together several business enquiry points within a unified service and thereby increasing the transparency of Customs procedures. Linking to the ongoing WCO Regional Seminar on the Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA) in Jakarta, he stressed the importance of Customs’ contribution to connectivity at borders, with better service for business.
The Secretary General also met with the Indonesian Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs, Mr. Sofyan Djalil, to discuss the implementation of the TFA, the use of the Time Release Study and the ASEAN Single Window. He also took this opportunity to pay a visit to the Indonesian Ministry of Commerce and the ASEAN Secretariat.