At the invitation of the President of the Islamic Republic of Iran Customs Administration (IRICA), Mr. Foroud Asgari, WCO Secretary General Kunio Mikuriya visited Tehran, Iran on 11-12 November 2017 to appreciate the progress achieved in Customs reform.
At a meeting with President Asgari and his senior management team, Secretary General Mikuriya commended the outcome of the recent development of the Iranian Customs Single Window (CSW) system. After conducting a series of consultations with other government agencies and the Parliament, the legislation allowing Customs to host a single window was introduced in 2014. At the same time, in partnership with Tehran University, the IRICA re-engineered and simplified the clearance system and rolled out the CSW paperless clearance system. As a result, the clearance time has been reduced dramatically (from 26 to 3 days for import and from 7 to 1 day for export) and 27 government agencies are now connected to the CSW system.
Dr. Mikuriya met with the newly appointed Minister of Economic Affairs and Finance of Iran, Dr. Masoud Karbasian, who was previously the head of IRICA. Dr. Karbasian stated that his achievements at the IRICA owed much to the WCO's instruments such as the Revised Kyoto Convention and also the best practices. The CSW system is now being connected to Iran's neighbouring countries. He pledged his continuous support to the WCO.
During his visit, Dr. Mikuriya attended the inauguration ceremony of the Dog Training Center and visited the CSW center to observe how Customs provides services to other government agencies through the interoperability of its IT system and also how it addresses the concern of the business community through enhanced transparency. He also had the opportunity to appreciate the record seizures resulting from the fight against drug trafficking.
Secretary General Mikuriya also took the opportunity to visit Tabriz, the capital of East Azerbaijan, a historical cross-road of trade linking Asia and Europe. He met with the Governor of the Province who appreciated the contribution of Customs to promoting trade, including the export of the world-renowned carpets. Dr. Mikuriya met with Customs officials in this province and discussed about the potential for expanding trade through developing the cross-border transit system.