On 28 June 2021, the World Customs Organization (WCO) Secretary General (SG) met with the United Nations SG at the UN headquarters in New York City. The UN SG acknowledged the important role played by Customs and both leaders agreed to strengthen the collaboration between both organisations to support the global recovery.
The UN SG expressed appreciation for the WCO's contribution to facilitating the cross-border movement of vaccines, enhancing security to counter terrorism, supporting economic development through trade facilitation using technology, as well as working closely with many UN agencies. He also acknowledged the progress made by the global Customs community in relation to gender equality and diversity. He emphasised the fact that the visibility of Customs had been further heightened due to the global pandemic and mentioned his willingness to continue to work with the WCO and offered further support in this respect.
The WCO SG explained that the WCO’s priority was to assist its members in facilitating and securing the global distribution of vaccines by ensuring the integrity of the supply chain, while protecting the health and safety of citizens by organising global operations, in collaboration with the relevant UN agencies, to detect counterfeit, fake, substandard or falsified medicines, vaccines and medical supplies. He also stressed the importance of digitalising paper-based procedures and supporting the development of E-Commerce in a sound manner while avoiding its exploitation by organised criminals and terrorist organisations. The WCO SG expressed his support for achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goals and reiterated the WCO's commitment to contributing to recovery from COVID-19 by supporting legitimate trade.
At the end of the meeting, both leaders agreed on further cooperation to achieve common goals.
Story by: Riaan de Lange