Visit to the Cuban Customs administration

Havana, 11 to 12 September 2009

Report

At the invitation of Cuba, WCO Secretary General, Kunio Mikuriya, visited the headquarters of Cuba Customs to see Director General Pupo and the University of Information Science (UCI) in Havana on 11 and 12 September 2009.

In close cooperation with Cuba Customs, the UCI has developed open software for the Customs administration, covering both Customs procedures (including Advance Passenger Information) and administrative procedures (including human resource management). This application of information technology enabled Cuba to accede to the WCO revised Kyoto Convention earlier this year; the first country in Latin America to do so. Cuba has shown its readiness to share their experience and provide assistance to other Customs administrations in developing IT software in partnership with a university. In response, Secretary General Mikuriya explored a plan to organize a WCO regional IT seminar in Cuba in November 2010, which will be open to administrations of other regions.

During the visit to Cuba, Mr. Mikuriya met Mr. R. Malmierca, Cuba’s Minister of Foreign Trade and Foreign Investment, to discuss the country’s enhancement of its dialogue and cooperation with other Customs administrations as a means to facilitate trade. He also met Mr. A. Colomé, the Minister of the Interior, for discussions on border control and the way to improve integrity in Customs.