The Secretary General of the World Customs Organization (WCO), Dr. Kunio Mikuriya, and the Secretary General of FIDI, Mr. Jesse van Sas, signed on 20 December 2017 a new Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) at the WCO Headquarters in Brussels to enhance cooperation to achieve mutual benefits, including a balance between security and facilitation.

The cooperation between the WCO and FIDI has a long-standing history, with the first MoU signed in 1995. Two decades later the world has changed significantly, and both Organizations agreed on the necessity of updating the MoU to explore common grounds on how best to ensure security in the household goods’ movements across borders.

The WCO tools such as the Revised Kyoto Convention on the simplification and harmonization of Customs procedures, and the SAFE Framework of Standards are aimed at securing and facilitating Global Trade, and at mutually benefiting Customs and Trade. FIDI plays a significant role in the movements of household goods across international borders, and in developing best practices for the world’s removal industry.

Understanding that Customs-Business partnerships and initiatives are crucial for securing and facilitating the international movement of goods and services, the Secretaries General concluded the meeting by discussing the possible synergies between their respective accreditation programmes, namely the WCO Authorized Economic Operator’s (AEO) programme and FIDI’s Accreditation International Movers’ (FAIM) programme.