5th Meeting of the ECO Council of Heads of Customs Administration (CHCA)
and
1st Meeting of the Sub Committee of Experts
ECO Secretariat, Tehran, 11 July 2006
Press Release
The 5th Meeting of the ECO Council of Heads of Customs Administration (CHCA) and 1st Meeting of the Sub Committee of Experts on simplification and harmonization of customs organization and procedures was held in Istanbul, Republic of Turkey on July 3-5, 2006. The delegations of all the ECO Member States (except Uzbekistan) along with the ECO Secretary General and his staff participated in the meeting.
During three days of deliberations the meeting considered important issues regarding customs cooperation in the ECO region.
A meeting of the Sub Committee of Experts for prioritization of the recommendations of UNDP Consultant Report on simplification and harmonization of customs organization and procedures in ECO Member States was held as a separate/parallel meeting. It was attended by the experts of the Member States along with the representative of ECO Secretariat. After thorough deliberations the Committee came up with specific recommendations which were adopted by the Council. The Council decided that the Sub Committee of Experts shall be convened on permanent basis to take care of some other important issues along with the simplification and harmonization of customs organization and procedures.
While appreciating the approval of the Agreement on establishment and operation of ECO Smuggling and Customs Offences Data Bank the Council stressed upon the non-signatory Member States to sign it and signatory Member States to ratify the said Agreement. Republic of Azerbaijan signed the Agreement at the end of the meeting while Islamic Republic of Iran, Kyrgyz Republic and Republic of Tajikistan also expressed their willingness to join this agreement in the near future.
Enforcement aspect of regional cooperation within ECO was also discussed and a number of proposals were given by the Member States for implementation and enforcement of various agreements. It was agreed that the Sub Committee of Experts will focus on this aspect in its future meetings.
Although it was recalled that Transit Transport Framework Agreement has been ratified by seven ECO Member States and has entered into force from May 2006, Iran, Pakistan and Turkey raised some issues regarding this agreement which need to be resolved in course of implementation of the agreement.
The Council decided that the Draft ECO Agreement on Mutual Administrative Assistance in Customs Matters will be finalized by the Sub Committee of Experts before the next CHCA. To this end, the Sub Committee will hold its second meeting in the last quarter of this year in Turkey and submit its recommendations to the 6th CHCA.
On the point of fast and speedy communication among ECO Member States, raised by Islamic Republic of Iran, the Secretary General ECO informed the Council that a web portal containing relevant information available to all ECO Member States has already been established. Necessary passwords and instructions/guidelines to operate the portal have already been provided to the member states for utilization of this facility. Similar facility can also be provided to the National Focal Points of Customs for direct exchange of information on customs areas. Republic of Turkey offered to assist the ECO Secretariat in this regard. The Council appreciated the initiatives of ECO Secretariat and the Republic of Turkey in this direction.
The Council elected the Head of Customs Administration of the Republic of Azerbaijan as the next Head of the Council of heads of Customs Administration for one year and decided to have the 6th meeting of the CHCA in Azerbaijan. Republic of Turkey was elected as Vice Chairman of the Council for a period of one year. Exact date and venue of the 6th CHCA will be communicated through diplomatic channels.
[Home] [Contact us] [Feedback] [Back]