The Deputy Secretary-General of the World Customs Organization (WCO), Kunio Mikuriya, and his counterpart from the Secretariat for Central American Economic Integration (SIECA), Francisco Lima Mena, agreed to deepen cooperation for the benefit of Central America, following a meeting they held this Monday (28.02.2022), in Brussels.
In a statement, the WCO noted that the two leaders "discussed ways to improve cooperation “ongoing between both organizations in support of regional integration in Central America.”
The Secretary General of SIECA thanked the meeting and the support of the OMA in the realization of a national and regional report of the Levante Time Study (ETL), expressing "the desire to cooperate with the OMA, following the Eleven action points identified as a result of the ETL, to define the path to follow for its implementation.”
The official note indicated that the Secretary General of the WCO suggested, in this regard, deepen the modernization of Customs, in line with international standards. The note also spoke of organizing a “strategic session” with the Customs administrations of the six SIECA member countries, namely: Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua and Panama, to develop an action plan. He added that donors could also be part of the initiative.
During the meeting, both leaders agreed to further strengthen cooperation in this critical stage of regional integration in Central America.
It should be noted that in Central America there is a renewed push for trade facilitation at the national and regional level, partly due to the growing emphasis on the rapid and harmonized implementation of the World Trade Organization's Trade Facilitation Agreement.WCO Press Release)
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