Visit by the Director General of the International Organization for Migration

Brussels, 13 January 2010

Report

Ambassador William Lacy Swing, Director General of the International Organization for Migration (IOM) visited the Secretary General of the WCO, Kunio Mikuriya, on 13 January 2010. They agreed to enhance cooperation between the two organizations in the area of border management.

Ambassador Swing stated that the mission of the IOM had recently been enlarged to include border management coordination where cooperation among relevant international organizations became important.

Mr. Mikuriya explained the WCO agenda with respect to coordinated border management where sharing data among border agencies was essential to managing the risk associated with cross border movement of goods, people and conveyances whilst at the same time facilitating the flow of legitimate trade at the border.

This convergence of interest led both Organizations to agree on exploring areas of cooperation that included attending each other’s meetings, conducting research and delivering training. In this regard, the WCO extended an invitation to the IOM to attend the open session of the upcoming joint meeting of the Permanent Technical Committee and the Enforcement Committee.