At the invitation of ISO President, the WCO Deputy Secretary (SG) General attended the 39th ISO General Assembly open session held in Beijing, The People’s Republic of China, on 14 September 2016. The open session was organized under the theme "Standards improve global connectivity" and was attended by 500 delegates from 163 ISO members, and more than 10 international and regional organizations, including the WCO.
The ISO President highlighted that international standards are the common language that allows all countries and their various stakeholders to work together. He also emphasized the importance of international standards as a key tool to support economic development, especially in developing countries.
The Chinese Minister of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine, also underlined the contribution of standardization to human development and referred to the current challenges faced by the global community in the area of standardization, including the need for a real "quality revolution", based on international cooperation and coordination.
The WTO SG Deputy the key role of the WCO in achieving the highest degree of harmonization and standardization of Customs procedures, and presented the main WCO instruments and tools to facilitate secure and sustainable transportation, including the Revised Kyoto Convention, the SAFE Framework of Standards, the Transit Handbook and the Time Release Study.
The open session was closed by the Chinese Premier who stressed the importance of standards to support the People’s Republic of China in its recovery from sluggish economic growth, he also highlighted that China must "have the courage to enforce high standards" to help to upgrade the manufacturing sector, which he described as the backbone of the Chinese economy.