The Annual Development Partners Coordination Meeting for the Americas and the Caribbean Region of the World Customs Organization (WCO) took place on 8 March 2018, at the premises of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in Washington, D.C., USA. This meeting has been a highlight for various development partners and the WCO. It has been responsible for much of the support provided and, equally responsible, in the success of many programs in the region.
Representatives from the IMF, World Bank, Inter-American Development Bank, United States Agency for International Development, Canada Border Services Agency, United States Customs and Border Protection, the WCO and the Regional Office for Capacity Building for the WCO Americas and the Caribbean Region attended the meeting. During the meeting, participants shared information on the main topics and countries of the region they have worked in 2017, where they plan to work in 2018, the lessons learned and areas of opportunity that can help strengthen the coordination among development partners.
Participants identified synergies and potential areas for joint development in the year ahead. During the closing remarks, the representatives from the IMF and the WCO acknowledged that as development partners the coordination has improved over the years and success stories were shared. However, there are still some challenges that need to be addressed to help improvement of the support provided to our Members.