WCO World Customs Organization : celebrates International Customs Day 2017 and invites members to share best practices

The World Customs Organization (WCO) celebrated the International Customs Day on 26 January 2017 at its Headquarters in Brussels, Belgium and officially launched the theme of the year: Data Analysis for Effective Border Management.

On this occasion, the Secretary General, Dr. Kunio Mikuriya delivered a message to the Customs community, the Ambassador of the People's Republic of China and Head of the EU mission in Brussels, H.E. Ms Yang Yanyi delivered a keynote address and the Vice President of EMEA Operations, Integration Point, Ms Michiko Loyd made a presentation on the Data Analysis in Trade. The event was supported by the Belgium Customs, represented by Mr. Kristian Vanderwaeren, General Administrator, Customs and Excise and with the special participation of the official Music Band.

The Secretary General of the WCO, Dr. Kunio Mikuriya welcomed the guests and explained the importance and relevance of the theme of the International Customs Day 2017. Dr. Mikuriya explained the ways data flows along the global value chain and how Customs can use it in an equitable and inclusive manner to support globalization. He also pointed out the vulnerabilities of cross-border transactions linked to e-commerce and the importance to understand the challenges to be able to support legitimate trade and combat illicit trafficking. He invited Customs administrations to share best practices to enhance the effectiveness of Border management and concluded by announcing that as data analysis empowers customs officers and contributes to establishing a level playing field, the WCO will organize, during the year, several events on the theme 'Women in Customs' to improve gender equality.

The Ambassador and Head of Mission of the People's Republic of China to the European Union, H.E Ms Yang Yanyi underlined the major opportunities and challenges concerning the use of data as well as the tools available to harness its power. She also explained how gender balance is important in the workplace and also her own experience of the progress made so far.

The Vice President, EMEA Operations, Integration Point, Ms. Michiko Lloyd made a presentation on the use of data analysis in Trade. She identified the challenges of having disparate data systems, an increasing volume of trade information and the importance of reconciling security demands and the need for effective data sharing and analytics.