CAIRO, 3rd April, 2017 (WAM) -- The UAE has participated in the 45th meeting for the Director-Generals of Customs of North Africa, Near and Middle East Countries, held on Monday at the headquarters of the General Secretariat for the League of Arab States, with the attendance of Kunio Mikuriya, Secretary-General for World Customs Organisation.

The countrys delegation was headed by Mohammed Juma Buossaiba, Director-General of the Federal Customs Authority, and included Mohammed Meer Abdul Rahman Al Sarrah, Director of the Department of Seaports & Customs in Sharjah, and Saud Al Aqroubi and Majid Al Suwaidi from the Federal Customs Authority.

Buossaiba stressed the importance of the meeting in strengthening co-operation with the World Customs Organisation, referring to the fact that the UAE was the first Arab country to adopt the agreement of facilitating trade for the World Trade Organisation, which entered into force on February 22, 2017 after more than two-thirds of the countries adopted it.

He said in a statement to Emirates News Agency (WAM) in Cairo that the UAE has fulfilled its obligations based on international agreements, and added that the country started to implement the agreement soon after it was signed.

The UAE official referred to the efforts of the Federal Customs Authority to strengthen co-operation with the World Customs Organisation in all Customs work and exchanging of expertise about the best practices to elevate the performance level at the ports.

The Secretary-General of the World Customs Organisation was invited to visit the regional office for the building capacity of customs for the region of North Africa, Near and Middle East Countries, being hosted by the UAE since its establishment in 2007, he added.

He commended the efforts of the security authorities in terms of customs work and co-operation with the authorities responsible for border points. This was being done to strengthen the procedures for supervision and inspection and supporting the security system for the country in light of the situation the world and the Arab region are going through to fight money laundering, customs evasion and illegal money trafficking, he added.

Ambassador Kamal Hassan Ali, Assistant Secretary-General for Economic Affairs at the Arab League, stressed the importance of the meeting to support Arab customs co-operation, and said he was looking forward to the economic sector at the Arab League to continue to be the main supporter for all that serves joint Arab customs work.

The Arab Customs Directors in their meeting tomorrow at the Arab League will discuss co-ordination and co-operation and the means of executing it in light of the high professionalism Arab customs authorities possess, he added.

Copyright Emirates News Agency (WAM) 2017.