Ambassador of Kazakhstan Held a meeting with New Head of the World Customs Organization

Brussels, 1 February, 2024 – At the headquarters of the World Customs Organization, Ambassador of Kazakhstan Margulan Baimukhan met with the new WCO Secretary General, Ian Saunders.

During the conversation, the parties discussed current and prospective issues of cooperation within the framework of this organization. Ambassador Baimukhan acquainted the Head of the international organization in detail with the current development of political and socio-economic reforms in Kazakhstan.

The parties also discussed the coordination of customs services, with a special emphasis on the crucial role of this area for the development of international trade. In this context, Ambassador Baimukhan highlighted the steps taken by Kazakhstan to increase the transit capacity of the country and the region.

Special attention was paid to the digital transformation of customs operations of Kazakhstan, as well as the ongoing modernization of the country's border checkpoints. The parties noted the prospects for joint work in the field of standardisation and digitisation of cargo transit procedures in the strategically important region of Central Asia and the Caucasus.

In turn, Ian Sanders noted the key role played by Kazakhstan in the regional context and confirmed readiness for further in-depth co-operation. He stressed that the key objective of the Organization is to promote cooperation between countries and facilitate international trade.

Following the meeting, the Kazakh diplomat handed the WCO head an official invitation to take part in the upcoming Astana International Forum scheduled for 13-14 June 2024.

For reference: The World Customs Organization (WCO) is an intergovernmental international organization headquartered in Brussels, Belgium. Customs services of 185 countries are members of the WCO. Kazakhstan has been a member of the WCO since June 1992 and since then has been actively participating in the work of the organization, including in its governing bodies - the Finance Committee, the Political Commission and the Customs Cooperation Council.