Customs DG-Commissioner Meeting on Trade Facilitation

ADB Institute, Tokyo, Japan: 13-15 February 2007

The Customs DG-Commissioner Meeting on Trade Facilitation was held at the ADB Institute in Tokyo, Japan on 13 to 15 February 2007.

Twenty-two senior officials from Afghanistan; Bangladesh; Bhutan; Brunei Darussalam; Cambodia; People’s Republic of China; Fiji; India; Indonesia; Macao, China; Malaysia; Maldives; Mongolia; Nepal; Pakistan; Papua New Guinea; Philippines; Solomon Islands; Sri Lanka; Taipei,China; Thailand; and Viet Nam attended the meeting.

This 3-day highlevel meeting focused on policy aspects of the World Trade Organization (WTO) Agreement on Trade Facilitation as well as ways of practical trade facilitation such as the use of information technology, partnership with private sector, and regional cooperation.

The meeting was the first international forum to discuss trade facilitation after the resumption of the WTO Doha Round negotiations.

Read the executive summary report [ PDF: 39kb | 3 pages ] about this meeting.

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Purpose

To provide technical inputs to customs administrations of developing member countries (DMCs) that are also members of the World Trade Organization (WTO) to help them develop a detailed plan for implementing the Agreement on Trade Facilitation.

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Objectives

discuss the political importance of the Agreement on Trade Facilitation
analyze the economic benefits from the implementation of the agreement
address key trade facilitation issues, such as partnership with the private sector, use of information technology and regional cooperation
introduce RETA 6355 (Capacity Development of Selected Developing Member Countries on the Implementation of the Trade Facilitation Agreement of the World Trade Organization) to maximize its benefits to the DMCs

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Expected Outputs