The 11th Asia Europe Meeting (ASEM) of the Directors General/Commissioners of Customs concluded in Goa today. Representatives from 41 Asian and European countries and 2 Intergovernmental bodies, namely European Union and ASEAN took part in it.
During the course of the meeting, the Heads of the Customs Administrations deliberated upon various issues and agreed upon an action plan called ‘Goa Declaration’ for 2016-17. The action plan involves Exchange of Best Practices and Capacity Building in the Areas of Trade Facilitation, Supply Chain Security, Scheme of Authorized Economic Operators, Coordinated Border Management, Intellectual Property Rights, Trans-boundary waste shipment, Joint Customs Operation against Counterfeit Goods, Paperless Customs, and Passenger Name Record. In order to promote Digital India campaign, India sponsored ‘Paperless Customs’ which received wide support from the ASEM Members.
During the Meeting, India and Korea signed a Mutual Recognition Arrangement (MRA) to facilitate the Scheme of Authorized Economic Operators (AEO) for boosting international trade and faster customs clearances between two countries. The 12th ASEM Meeting will be hosted by Germany in 2017 in Berlin.