At the invitation of Mr. Alexander Mora, Costa Rica Minister of International Trade, WCO Deputy Secretary General Sergio Mujica attended the Conference "Costa Rica in the Multilateral Trading System, Trade Facilitation as a Catalyst for Competitiveness" in San Jose, Costa Rica, on 25 August.

The conference was opened by Mr. John Fonseca, Vice Minister of International Trade, who highlighted the benefits of the WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA) and the importance of Customs’ support for its implementation. Afterwards, WCO Deputy Secretary General delivered a keynote speech on the key role of the WCO and Customs in ensuring a consistent and timely implementation of the TFA.

Mr. Mujica also presented the WCO Mercator Programme which was highly appreciated by all participants. Later, Mr. Roberto Azevêdo, Director General of the WTO presented the key features of the TFA and its benefits for the international trading system. The event was closed by Minister Mora who expressed full support of Costa Rica Government to ratify the TFA as quickly as possible and thanked both WCO and WTO for participating in this important event.

Later, Mr. Azevêdo and Mr. Mujica were invited by the President of Costa Rica, HE Luis Guillermo Solís, to a working lunch at the Government House. The lunch was also attended by the Vice President of Costa Rica and several Ministers and Vice Ministers. The main topics discussed were the current opportunities and challenges for the international trade and multilateralism, including the key role of WTO and WCO to support this process.

On 26 August, the Deputy Secretary General participated in a round table organized by Mr. Rafael Bonilla, Director General of Costa Rica Customs and its management team. On this occasion, the latest developments on the WCO strategic plan were discussed, including the key role of Customs to support the implementation of the WTO TFA, as well as the strategic projects Costa Rica is working on to further enhance trade facilitation, such as Single Window and Authorized Economic Operator.

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Photo (from left to right):

Sergio Mujica, WCO Deputy Secretary General; Roberto Azevêdo, WTO Director General; Luis Guillermo Solís, President of Costa Rica; Alexander Mora, Minister of International Trade; John Fonseca, Vice Minister of International Trade