Kunio Mikuriya, Secretary General of the World Customs Organization (OMA), attended the Munich Security Conference (Germany), a prestigious international forum on international politics, from February 18 to 20.
During the session on combating kleptocracy and corruption, several topics were discussed, including illicit trade. In his speech, Secretary-General Mikuriya highlighted the potential danger for customs administrations of having to rely on low-quality data while controlling a large volume of e-commerce shipments that have grown even further during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Enforcement operations coordinated by the WCO demonstrated that E-commerce has become one of the main conduits for illicit trade. Therefore, it has become essential to gain access to good quality data for risk management purposes, using digital technology in a paperless trade environment. As in the case of traditional container trade, where there is an established data flow from the trading community to Customs, there is also a need for Customs to enhance cooperation with e-commerce operators, including e-commerce platforms..The development of public-private partnerships with e-commerce players for the purpose of sharing data, in addition to continued cooperation with other law enforcement agencies to identify high-risk packages, is a matter of urgency.
As part of the conference, Mikuriya held a series of talks with ministers and political leaders, as well as heads of international organizations. The head of the only global customs organization held a bilateral meeting with Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Director-General of the World Trade Organization (WTO), to discuss progress in the area of multilateral trade negotiations, as well as possible cooperation on e-commerce and trade transparency. He also met with Majlinda Bregu, Secretary-General of the Regional Cooperation Council (RCC), and Jurgen Stock, her counterpart from INTERPOL.
The Munich Security Conference is a conference of international security experts and politicians since 1963. The event takes place annually in February. The purpose is to discuss current issues of security and defense policy. (WCO Press Release)
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