OSCE Centre supports training for customs officers on international trade facilitation standards

An OSCE-facilitated three-day regional training workshop for customs officers on implementing the World Customs Organization’s Authorised Economic Operator (AEO) programme concluded in Astana on 30 November. The AEO programme aims to facilitate and simplify customs processes and procedures, as well as to encourage public-private partnerships.

The meeting was organised by the OSCE Centre in Astana with the support of the Office of the OSCE Co-ordinator for Economic and Environmental Activities in close co-operation with Kazakhstan’s Customs Control Committee and the World Customs Organization (WCO).

Some 50 officials from the customs administrations of Belarus, Kazakhstan and Russia as well as international experts and business representatives exchanged views about recent developments in the context of the WCO SAFE Framework of Standards to Secure and Facilitate Global Trade. The participants also learned about practical steps to further develop their AEO programmes at the national level, and to put in place Mutual Recognition Agreements at the regional level, particularly in the framework of the Customs Union between the three countries.

"Facilitation of legitimate international trade and transport has been high on the OSCE’s economic and environmental security agenda for a long time,” said Jeannette Kloetzer, the Acting Head of OSCE Centre in Astana. “This workshop is part of the OSCE’s efforts to promote a better balance between ensuring security and promoting trade.”

"The topic of the workshop is important for Kazakhstan’s customs agencies,” said Nurzhan Ashikhanov, the Deputy Chairperson of the Kazakhstan’s Customs Control Committee. “Authorized Economic Operator is a new concept recently introduced into the country’s customs legislation as part of its ongoing efforts to modernize its customs system, and we trust this event will help us effectively implement it.”

The workshop also introduced the participants to a handbook “Best Practices at Border Crossings: a Trade and Transport Facilitation Perspective,” which was drafted by OSCE and UNECE to allow for the exchange of best practices in the customs and border crossing facilitation field. The publication will come out later this year.