On 09 October 2026, the World Customs Organization (WCO) released its deputy secretary general’s message:
On 31 October 2026, I will conclude my service as deputy secretary general of the WCO. As that moment approaches, I would like to share a few words of gratitude, reflection and farewell.
Serving the WCO and, above all, serving its members over the past nine years has been one of the greatest privileges of my professional life. I remain profoundly grateful for the confidence you placed in me by electing me twice to this position, and for the support and trust you have extended to me throughout my tenure.
My decision to leave the WCO before completing my second term has not been easy. The WCO has held a significant place in my professional life, and the opportunity to work with such a diverse and committed global Customs family has been both an honour and a constant source of learning and inspiration.
Looking back, what matters most to me is not any single initiative, but what we have been able to achieve TOGETHER. Over these years, I have sought to ensure the Secretariat’s work remained firmly anchored in members’ priorities, challenges and expectations, and that the WCO stayed relevant, responsive, and forward-looking.
Together, we strengthened and renewed the WCO Strategic Plan’s relevance, making it a more meaningful instrument for guiding the WCO’s work and responding to members’ needs. Throughout this process, we built a closer, more direct relationship between the Secretariat and members, placing greater emphasis on consultations, dialogue, and regular communication so your perspectives could more effectively shape our priorities and activities.
We reinvented the WCO’s approach to foresight and environmental scanning, strengthening our ability to anticipate change rather than simply react to it. In an increasingly complex and uncertain global environment, I believe this capacity will remain essential to keeping Customs administrations, and the WCO itself, prepared for the challenges and opportunities ahead.
We laid the foundations for the WCO’s modernisation journey by defining a Modernisation Plan to ensure the WCO continues to evolve in line with the rapidly changing environment in which Customs administrations operate. We also advanced a renewed Capacity-Building Paradigm, aiming to make our implementation support to members more strategic, sustainable and responsive to specific needs.
I am equally proud to have contributed to defining the Performance Measurement Mechanism (PMM). The PMM represents an important step in strengthening the WCO’s capacity to demonstrate results, promote evidence-based decision-making and support continuous improvement across the Customs community.
None of these achievements belongs to one individual. They result from collective efforts and shared ambitions to build great things together. I therefore wish to express my deepest appreciation to all of you who shared your ideas, challenged our thinking, contributed your experience and worked with us to move these initiatives forward.
I also want to express my sincere gratitude to the WCO Secretariat staff. I have had the privilege of working alongside exceptionally dedicated and talented colleagues whose professionalism, resilience, and commitment to members are at the heart of this WCO. Their work, often carried out behind the scenes and under demanding circumstances, deserves the highest recognition.
My thanks also go to the secretary general, under whose leadership I have had the honour to serve, and to the council chairpersons with whom I have worked over the years. Their leadership, guidance and partnership have been invaluable, and I am grateful for the constructive relationships we have built in advancing the WCO’s objectives.
Above all, I leave with profound gratitude. International organisations derive their legitimacy from their members. Throughout my tenure, I have never lost sight of the fact that our responsibility at the Secretariat is ultimately to serve you. Your trust has therefore been both an honour and a responsibility that I have carried with the greatest seriousness.
The WCO today faces a world of accelerating technological, economic and geopolitical change. I am confident, however, that the WCO has the collective strength to navigate this changing landscape. Its greatest asset remains the global Customs family itself: a family that is defined by professionalism, solidarity and hard work.
As I move on to the next chapter of my professional and personal journey, I will carry with me many friendships, countless memories and a deep respect for the work that Customs administrations perform every day in support of their societies. I will also carry the conviction that when members come together around a shared purpose, this WCO can be an extraordinary force for progress.
I wish the WCO, its members and the entire Customs community every success in the years ahead. Although my formal responsibilities will end on 31 October 2026, my respect for this WCO and my connection to the global Customs family will remain.
With my deepest appreciation and warmest regards
Ricardo TREVIÑO CHAPA
Deputy Secretary General