The 125th/126th Annual Sessions of the World Customs Organization’s Council was held in Brussels from 11 to 13 June, 2015, with the participation of Directors Generals of Customs representing the 180 Members of the WCO. Chaired by Mr. Zouhair Chorfi of Morocco and led by Secretary General Kunio Mikuriya, this Council meeting was especially important to members because of the election of candidates to three senior WCO posts. The IFCBA was represented at the meeting by Carol West, Secretary and Jaime King, Past Chairman.
Mr. Zouhair Chorfi of Morocco was re-elected as Chairperson of the Council and the following individuals were elected to the positions below, to take effect January 1, 2016.
- Ms. Ana Hinojosa of the United States was elected as Director of Compliance and Facilitation.
- Mr. Ernani Checcucci of Brazil was elected as Director of Capacity Building.
- Mr. Ping Liu of China was elected as Director for Tariff and Trade Affairs.
The Council celebrated the 10th Anniversary of the SAFE Framework of Standards to Secure and Facilitate Global Trade by adopting a third pillar, Customs to Other Government Agencies and Inter-Government Agencies, as well as the incorporation of standards for “Pre-loading Advance Cargo Information” with respect to air cargo to facilitate a first layer of security risk analysis in collaboration with civil aviation authorities. IFCBA has been very engaged with the SAFE Working Group and congratulates the WCO on this important milestone.
It is a tradition at WCO Council meetings for delegates to vote for their favourite photograph from those submitted by Customs administrations around the world, including from many IFCBA member countries. This year’s winner was from the Customs Administration of Sudan. Take a look! WCO Photo Competition