Meeting between the WCO Secretary General and the Turkish Minister of State
WCO Headquarters, 25 June 2009
Report
The WCO Secretary General, Kunio Mikuriya, met Mr. Hayati Yazici, Minister of State responsible for the Turkish Customs administration, at WCO headquarters on 25 June 2009.
The Minister was accompanied by Mr. Emin Zararsiz, Undersecretary of Customs, who is heading the Turkish delegation on the occasion of the 2009 Annual Sessions of the WCO Council.
During the visit the Minister and the Secretary General discussed a number of important issues including Turkey’s commitment to the work of the WCO in the framework of modernizing its Customs instruments, the renewal of Turkish border posts and equipping them with further non-intrusive inspection equipment, Turkey’s assistance to WCO Members forming part of the Silk Road Initiative, and the need for stronger cooperation in protecting intellectual property rights. In the context of Turkey’s accession to the European Union, the Minister also briefed the Secretary General on the latest amendments to his country’s Customs Code for further alignment with the Community Customs Code.
Mr. Mikuriya thanked the Minister for acknowledging the importance of WCO instruments in any Customs modernization process, the necessity for Customs administrations to communicate and cooperate with one another as a means to building regional capacity, and the need for stronger collaboration to fight counterfeiting and piracy. He stressed that ministerial support was essential to enable Customs authorities to meet the challenges of the 21st century trade environment with confidence. The Secretary General also took the opportunity to thank Turkey for visibly demonstrating its support for the WCO initiative to build the capacity of the Palestine Customs authority.