The Comptroller General of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), CGC Bashir Adewale Adeniyi on Wednesday, May 8 attended the World Customs Organization (WCO) conference on Authorized Economic Operator (AEO) in Shenzhen, China.
The conference had a panel discussion involving the Vice Minister General Administration of China Customs (GACC), Sun Yuning; Director-General Tax and Customs Authority of Portugal, Helena Marla.
Other panelists at the 6th WCO Global Authorized Economic Operators Conference are WCO Council Chairperson, Edward Kieswetter and Deputy Commissioner Operations, Jamaica Customs Agency, Selina Clerk.
CGC in his address expressed confidence that the recently launched Pilot AEO program in Nigeria will contribute to the broader objectives of the WCO in promoting border security and fostering sustainable economic development worldwide.
He acknowledged that the NCS’ level of implementing AEO is at the early stage and expressed his preparedness to engage Customs officers in building their capacity about the program so that they embrace the knowledge of how to implement it among other things.
“We started implementing a pilot AEO program a month ago, and we have been inspired by the policy and vision of the new Nigerian government led by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to enhance the economic competitiveness and diversification.
“The indices that they used in compiling the ease of doing business is trading across borders, and AEO allows us to engage with our stakeholders and reduce the time and cost of doing business,” the Customs boss stated.
He added: “Although the Service gets the support of the WCO, the organisers of the conference must consider the challenges that the Service experiences in the area of optimising stakeholders’ engagement, amongst others.”
The Vice Minister of General Administration of Customs of the People’s Republic of China, Wanga Lingjun in his opening address welcomed the participants to the conference which started on Wednesday, May 8 and ended on Friday, May 10, 2024.
While delivering his speech, the Secretary General of the WCO, Ian Sanders commended the participating members of the AEO and described this year’s conference “as a platform for sharing a common commitment to transparent, secured and resilient trade ecosystem.”
Sanders stressed the significance of small-scale businesses in transforming the global economy.
His words: “As we explore the transformative potential AEO program, it is crucial to acknowledge the backbone of our local economy: the micro, small and medium-size entrepreneurs or MSMEs.”
He further promised that the AEO program will engage the operators of MSMEs to benefit from the initiative.
