At the invitation of Mr. Aydin Aliyev, Director General of Azerbaijan Customs, WCO Secretary General Kunio Mikuriya visited Baku, Azerbaijan, on 27 January 2017 to speak at the opening ceremony of the conference on “Economic Security - Aspect of Trade Facilitation and Security”, held at the Azerbaijan Economic University on the occasion of International Customs Day and the 25th Anniversary of the State Customs Committee of the Republic of Azerbaijan.
In his speech, Dr. Mikuriya traced the history of Azerbaijan Customs and expressed appreciation for its support for the WCO, including its capacity building activities, particulary by hosting the Regional Office for Capacity Building, Regional Training Centre and Regional Dog Training Centre which contributed greatly to the enhancement of international cooperation with a focus on human resource development, and he also expressed gratitude to the Administration for expertly hosting the WCO PICARD Conference in 2015, thus further enhancing the partnership between Customs and academia. Dr. Mikuriya applauded Azerbaijan's focus on the importance of knowledge and technology, and said that such a strategy provided the perfect policy platform for the WCO theme for 2017, "Data Analysis for Effective Border Management".
During an audience with His Excellency Ilham Aliyev, President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Dr. Mikuriya expressed his gratitude for the strong political support provided by the office of the President for the progress made in Customs modernization. The President reiterated his continued support for further cooperation with the WCO.
In the course of his mission, Dr. Mikuriya joined the opening of the exhibition entitled "Azerbaijan Customs on Guard for Cultural Heritage" at the Museum Center of Baku in the presence of the Vice Prime Minister and Minister of Culture of Azerbaijan. He commended the contribution made by Customs to protect society from organized criminal and terrorist organizations, including the fight against trafficking of cultural goods.