Customs Affairs President chairs regional meeting

Manama, Feb. 2 (BNA): President of the Customs Affairs and Deputy President of the World Customs Organisation for Northern Africa and Near and the Middle East, Shaikh Ahmed bin Hamad Al Khalifa has chaired the 49th meeting of the region’s customs Directors General, in Egypt. The Meeting was attended by the World Customs Organisation (WCO) Secretary General Kunio Mikuriya. The Customs Affairs President highlighted that the theme of this year ‘s celebration to mark the World Customs Day that focuses on smart borders asserts the crucial role of the Customs in promoting performance at ports and its dedication to facilitating trade traffic and ensuring security. The WCO Secretary General expressed happiness for participating in the meeting, highlighting that the organisation would witness changes in its administration with the voting to select a new board chairperson. The meeting discussed topics on the agenda, while the participants agreed to support one candidate to take up the post of the Director of Capabilities Building and to join efforts to enable an Arab to be a director in the WCO. (MOI)