Directors General of the 184 WCO Member Customs administrations, including Ambassador of Uzbekistan to the Benelux countries Dilyor Khakimov and representative of the country to the WCO Muzaffar Mukaramov, gathered at the 139th/140th Sessions of the WCO Council, the Organization’s highest decision-making body, held in Brussels, Belgium from 23 to 25 June 2022.

The sessions were attended by delegations from 184 WCO member countries.

Under the chairmanship of Mr. A. Al Khalifa, President of Customs Affairs in Bahrain, the Council took stock of the work carried out by the WCO Members and the Secretariat, since the last Council session held in a virtual format in June 2021. Delegates also discussed and decided on international standards, guidance documents and recommended practices to be developed or adopted during the next financial year, to enhance the management of cross-border trade.

Members focused their discussions on areas such as Capacity Building, Rules of Origin, Valuation, Nomenclature and Classification, Compliance and Trade Facilitation, as well as other important governance matters.

The Council noted the update on the implementation of the WCO COVID-19 Action Plan, and endorsed the WCO Strategic Plan 2022-2025, with Technology and Innovation, Green Customs and Governance and Accountability as its focus areas. The Council expressed its support for the WCO’s Green Customs Initiative as a cornerstone of the WCO Strategic Plan for Customs modernization, recognizing the urgent need for Customs to play an active role in addressing environmental concerns.

The Council adopted the WCO Data Strategy, recognizing the power of data for strategic planning and intelligence, as well as the latest version of the WCO Framework of Standards on Cross-Border E-Commerce. 

Directors General of Customs re-elected Mr. Ricardo Treviño Chapa as Deputy Secretary General for a five-year period.

They also re-elected Mr. A. Al Khalifa, President of Customs Affairs in Bahrain at the post of the Chairperson of the WCO Council and proceeded to confirm a number of important regional representative positions.

UzA