At the invitation of the International President of the World Business Alliance for Secure Commerce (BASC) Organization, the World Customs Organization (WCO) participated at the VII World BASC Conference. The topic for this years’ meeting was “Facilitation and Security: The road to global prosperity.”
The meeting was held in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, from 14 to 15 September 2017. It was attended by over 300 participants from the Private Sector, from the Dominican Customs and from the World Trade Organization (WTO). A wide range of topics were discussed. These included an overview of the WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement (the WTO TFA), the role of the Private Sector, an overview of Facilitation and Security strategies in Latin America, Customs and Private Sector working together, amongst others.
The World BASC Organization also celebrated its 20th Anniversary with a special panel on “20 years of Customs and Business Working Together”.
The WCO made a comprehensive presentation about the WCO, the WTO TFA and the role of the private sector. The presentation included an overview of the organization and of the WCO Mercator Programme. This programme offers support to Member Administrations to implement the WTO TFA, including support on the engagement of stakeholders, from the private sector as well as other governmental agencies.
The WCO representative also took the opportunity to congratulate the World BASC Organization on its 20th Anniversary and expressed the appreciation for the cooperation and continuous support to the WCO.
