PROCEEDINGS OF THE 3 RD MEETING OF THE COMCEC TRADE WORKING GROUP

Transcription

1 Standing Committee for Economic and Commercial Cooperation of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (COMCEC) PROCEEDINGS OF THE 3 RD MEETING OF THE COMCEC TRADE WORKING GROUP FACILITATING INTRA-OIC TRADE: IMPROVING THE EFFICIENCY OF CUSTOMS PROCEDURES IN THE OIC MEMBER STATES COMCEC COORDINATION OFFICE March 2014

2

3 Standing Committee for Economic and Commercial Cooperation of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (COMCEC) PROCEEDINGS OF THE 3 RD MEETING OF THE COMCEC TRADE WORKING GROUP ON FACILITATING INTRA-OIC TRADE: IMPROVING THE EFFICIENCY OF CUSTOMS PROCEDURES IN THE OIC MEMBER STATES (February 27 th, 2014, Ankara, Turkey) COMCEC COORDINATION OFFICE March 2014

4 For further information please contact: Mr. Murat DELIÇAY Expert Mr. Ahmet OKUR Expert COMCEC Coordination Office Necatibey Caddesi No: 110/A Yücetepe Ankara/TURKEY Phone : Fax : Web : comcec@comcec.org mdelicay@comcec.org aokur@comcec.org

5 Table of Contents Introduction: Opening Remarks: Outlook of the Trade Sector in the Comcec Region Improving the Efficiency of the Customs Procedures: Challenges and Global Trends General Overview of Customs Procedures in the OIC Member States Reforming Customs Procedures: Success Stories a) Experience of Malaysia b) Experience of Turkey in AEO and Single Window (SW) c) Experience of Turkey in Modernization of Border Crossing Points Private Sector Involvement in Customs Modernization a) Implementation of PPP Projects for Customs Modernization in Turkey b) PPP in Implementing Single Window-Senegal s Experience The WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement and Its Possible Impact on Customs Modernization The Way Forward a) Capacity Building and Technical Assistance Activities of the WCO b) Meeting the Challenges in Customs Modernization in the OIC Member States c) Utilizing the COMCEC Project Funding Closing Remarks Annex I: List of Participants of the Third Meeting of the COMCEC Trade Working Group Annex II: Programme of the Third Meeting of the COMCEC Trade Working Group... 42

6 Introduction: The Third Meeting of the COMCEC Trade Working Group was held in February 27th, 2014 in Ankara, TURKEY with the theme of Facilitating Intra-OIC Trade: Improving the Efficiency of the Customs Procedures in the OIC Member States. The Meeting was attended by the representatives of 21 Member States which have already notified their focal points for Trade Working Group namely, Bangladesh, Cameroon, Comoros, Egypt, Indonesia, Iraq, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Libya, Malaysia, Mali, Morocco, Oman, Pakistan, Palestine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Tunisia, Turkey and Yemen. Representatives of the COMCEC Coordination Office, Islamic Center for Trade and Development (ICDT), International Islamic Trade Finance Corporation (ITFC), United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), World Customs Organization (WCO) and selected private sector firms have also attended the Meeting. At the outset, the representatives of the COMCEC Coordination Office (CCO) briefed the Meeting on the Trade Outlook 2014 which reviews recent patterns and trends in the global trade, trade between the OIC and the world, and intra-oic trade. The participants deliberated on the current performance of Customs in the Member States and explored what could be done to improve efficiency of the Customs Procedures. In this regard, the Study prepared by the CCO namely, Facilitating Intra-OIC Trade: Improving Efficiency of the Customs Procedures in the OIC Member States was presented and delegates shared their views regarding the topics covered in the Study. Representatives of some Member States also made presentations regarding the Customs Procedures in their countries and briefed participants on some important Customs modernization projects have been undertaken by their respective governments recently. The Meeting also provided the opportunity to the representatives of the invited international institutions to share their perspectives and activities in trade facilitation, specifically on customs modernization. The presentations and deliberations made during the meeting highlighted the fact that, many countries face similar problems in customs modernization and automation including limited use of modern techniques, underdeveloped customs legislations, limited skilled human resources etc.. The participants underlined that role of national governments possess ciritical role in adapting and implementing modern Customs Procedures. They also highlighted the importance of cooperation among the customs administrations and with international institutions which may provide great opportunities to enhance technical and human capacity of the Customs Administrations. 1

7 1. Opening Remarks: The Meeting has started with the recitation form Holy Quran. During the opening, Mr. Mehmet Metin EKER, Director General of the COMCEC Coordination Office welcomed all the participants to the Third Meeting of the COMCEC Trade Working Group and gave a brief account on the COMCEC, its Strategy and the COMCEC Trade Working Group. He emphasized that the COMCEC Strategy aims at making COMCEC a knowledge based forum which will produce and disseminate knowledge and provide a platform for the Member States to share their experiences in the cooperation areas. He added that the Strategy also aims to facilitate policy approximation of the Member Countries in selected cooperation areas. Mr. EKER highlighted that the COMCEC Strategy introduced two new implementation instruments namely Working Groups and Project Cycle Management (PCM). He stated the main function of the Working Groups is to provide an opportunity for the technical experts of the Member States to meet at least twice a year in Ankara to produce knowledge, share experiences and develop a common understanding. Mr. EKER also stated that the COMCEC Coordination Office provides technical support to Working Groups by preparing analytical reports. He informed that an Analytical Report titled Facilitating the Intra-OIC Trade: Improving the efficiency of the Customs Procedures in the OIC Member States was specifically prepared for the Third Meeting of the COMCEC Trade Working Group and distributed to the Member States registered to the Trade Working Group. Mr. EKER expressed that Project Cycle Management (PCM) aims to mobilize Member States resources especially human and intellectual resources. He informed that first project call was made in September 2013 and project submission was completed in November He expressed that the projects which will be financed by the COMCEC Coordination Office will be announced in the following days. He highlighted that, the approved projects will contribute to the multilateral cooperation and further the mission of the COMCEC. Mr. EKER stated that COMCEC Strategy has four main output areas for Trade namely; Trade Liberalization, Trade Finance, Trade Facilitation and Trade Promotion. He informed the participants that the first two Meetings of the COMCEC Trade Working Group were convened in June and October 2013 with themes related to Trade Finance and Trade Facilitation respectively with specific emphasis on SMEs in the Member States. He reminded that more information and Analytical Studies prepared for the first two Meetings can be reached at the COMCEC website ( Mr. EKER highlighted that the theme of the 3 rd Meeting is Improving Efficiency of the Customs Procedures in the OIC Member States. He underlined that there is a growing interest in trade facilitation in particular on customs modernizationby the international community in recent decades. He concluded his statement by expressing his best wishes for the success of deliberations. 2

8 Ms. Müge Varol ILICAK, Deputy Director General of Agreements of the Ministry of Economy of the Republic of Turkey was elected as the moderator of the Meeting. Ms. ILICAK firstly welcomed participants to Ankara. Ms. ILICAK gave brief information on the previous Meetings of the COMCEC Trade Working Group held in June and October 2013 respectively. Afterwards, Ms. ILICAK moderated the meeting according to the Programme enclosed herewith as Annex II. 2. Outlook of the Trade Sector in the Comcec Region Ms. Vildan BARAN, Expert from the COMCEC Coordination Office has presented some key findings of the COMCEC Trade Outlook In the presentation, Ms. BARAN focused on the patterns and trends in global trade, trade between the OIC and the world, and intra-oic trade. Concerning global trade patterns and trends, Ms. BARAN stated that global trade has showed a steady increase in the last decade until the global crisis. Although the recovery was strong in real terms in 2010, world trade slowed down in 2011 and Thus, world trade in real terms has not returned to the high growth rates of the pre-crisis period yet. In her presentation, she also shared some figures developed by WTO to demonstrate developments in global trade. Moreover, she presented some figures on developments in oil and non-fuel prices, sectorial breakdown of world exports and number of Regional Trade Agreements (RTAs). She stated that the rise in global trade characterized by increases in share of commodity exports, increases in the share of developing countries and rising number of RTAs. She argued that the commodity prices increased steadily starting from 2003 due to increases in global industrial production, the increasing political instability in the Middle-East, supply constraints in oil and depreciation trend in US Dollar. After falling sharply in 2009, commodity prices rebounded quickly and reach their peaks in 2011 as the growth performance of emerging and developing economies quickly recovered to pre-crisis trends. However, in 2012 non-fuel commodity prices declined by 10 per cent while oil prices remained almost same. Ms. BARAN also shared some figures about total OIC trade, share of OIC trade in global trade and the breakdown of total OIC exports and imports by countries and sectors. Ms. BARAN stated that total OIC trade recorded a steady increase until the global economic crisis and recovered strongly after the crisis. However, the growth of total OIC trade remained modest in 2012 mainly due to the slowdown in global demand, social and political developments in the Middle East and falling non-fuel commodity prices. She pointed that prices of many commodities which are the main exported items in some OIC Member States declined severely. Ms. BARAN stated the share of total OIC trade in world trade increased to 12.1 per cent in The annual average growth in exports was above the OIC average between 2000 and 2012 period. She stated that the increase in total OIC exports stemmed mainly from the exports of some Member Countries namely; Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Malaysia, Indonesia, Turkey, Qatar, Nigeria, Kuwait, Iran and Iraq. 3

9 Ms. BARAN underlined that the country and product concentration in total OIC exports was high in 2012, which makes them vulnerable to external shocks that might result from decreasing demand in these countries and/or falling commodity prices. Apart from China, the developed countries have been major destinations for the total OIC exports in recent years. In the commodity composition of total OIC exports, the share of mineral fuels, oils and related products increased to 64 percent in She stated that commodity concentration is more apparent when countries examined specifically: the share of petroleum exports in total ranged between 61 to 100 percent for the top oil exporters of the OIC in Whereas in many OIC countries exports heavily depend on a specific product. For example, the share of nonmonetary gold reached more than half of total exports in Burkina Faso, Mali, Sudan, Lebanon and Kyrgyz Republic. The share of basic metals constituted a major place in the exports of some member states such as Niger, Mauritania and Mozambique where the share of metalliferous ores and metal scrap and non-ferrous metals in their exports ranged between 48 percent to 61 percent. Whereas in Gambia and Pakistan the share of textile yarn was 67 percent and 48 per cent respectively in their exports. Ms. BARAN stated that OIC imports have mainly been from developed countries similar to exports. However, product diversification in imports was higher. Manufactured items like machinery, nuclear reactors, boilers, electrical and electronic equipment, vehicles other than railway, tramway also constituted important part of the imports in Furthermore, Ms. BARAN shared a figure showing the difference in the trade openness ratio between 2000 and Accordingly, the countries having the highest increase in their trade openness ratio were United Arab Emirates, Mauritania and Kyrgyz Republic. She stated that United Arab Emirates had the highest trade openness ratio with 162 percent in Ms. BARAN also elaborated on the intra-oic trade. She shared some figures about intra-oic trade and commodity composition of intra-oic exports and intra-oic imports. According to the presentation, starting from 2001, intra-oic trade increased at higher rates compared to total trade. Thus, the share of intra-oic trade peaked at 18.2 percent in She stated that intra OIC trade mainly resulted from high intra-trade volumes of United Arab Emirates, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Indonesia, Malaysia, Pakistan, Egypt, Iraq and Syria. With regards to the intra-oic exports Ms. BARAN stated that intra-oic exports which reached 358 billion US dollars in 2012, concentrated on a few commoditites. She highlighted that, the share of mineral fuels, oils and related products was 35 percent of the total intra-oic exports in 2012, followed by pearls, precious stones, animal, vegetable fat and oils and plastics and articles. Ms. BARAN also provided some figures related to commodity composition of intra-oic exports and intra-oic imports by the sub-oic regions. She stated that Arab and Africa regions intra exports mainly consist of mineral fuels whereas in Asia manufactured goods has the highest share. Concerning intra-imports, manufactured goods had the highest share in Arab region 4

10 whereas imports of mineral fuels, lubricants and related material had the highest share in intra-imports of Asia and Africa. Ms. BARAN stated that 20 percent intra-oic trade target was surpassed by 30 member states by However, the share of intra-oic trade was as low as 3 to 5 percent in some Member Countries such as Guyana, Gabon and Mozambique. Questions and Comments: Ms. ILICAK thanked Ms. BARAN for the valuable presentation. She reminded that the OIC Member States have huge economic and commercial potential. She underlined that, despite this fact, current economic and commercial cooperation among the Member States is far below the potential. Ms. ILICAK underlined the importance of economic integration and added that expanding trade in the OIC region is one of the most important tools to reach higher level of cooperation. She emphasized that intra-oic trade figure in 2012 was very low (%18,5) compared to the relevant figure of the EU (%65) and NAFTA (%48). Representative of Turkey Ms. EDİS stated that commodity dependence and heavy concentration in terms of export destination markets are the most important findings of the COMCEC Trade Outlook She added that another important dimension to be considered is that despite China is the leading country for OIC exports, developed countries are still the main export markets for the OIC Countries. She argued that this situation may cause some vulnerability as demand in the develop countries may descend in future. She told that intra- OIC trade and south-south trade could help to overcome mentioned potential risks. Representative of ICDT, Mr. SALL shared his views with the participants. He told that hopefully % 20 intra-oic trade targets will be reached in He pointed out that the main challenges faced in the OIC Region are; lack of market access due to tariff and para-tariff obstacles, barriers in logistics and infrastructure, lack of market information and inadequate and inefficient financing of SMEs. Mr. SALL reminded that a report illustrating aforementioned problems can be found in ICDT website. Representative of Bangladesh, raised a question on what criteria was used for defining Trade Openness indicator. Ms. BARAN stated that Trade Openness of a country is calculated by dividing sum of export and imports of that country to its GDP. Representative of WCO, shared his views regarding intra-oic trade target. He argued that countries may contribute to the target by taking measures to facilitate transit trade through not only improving infrastructure but also the processes, customs clearances and working hours. He also mentioned that current structure of the OIC exports can be improved by more liberal legislations facilitating inflow and outflow of processed and semi-processed goods. 5

11 3. Improving the Efficiency of the Customs Procedures: Challenges and Global Trends Mr. Murat DELİÇAY, Expert from the COMCEC Coordination Office made a presentation on Global Trends and Challenges in Improving the Efficiency of Customs Procedures. In his presentation, Mr. DELİÇAY focused on four main issues: The Role of Customs Procedures in increasing trade, Challenges faced by the Customs in improving the efficiency of the procedures, Global trends to meet the challenges, Success factors in implementing Customs reform. Mr. DELİÇAY firstly informed the participants that Customs Administrations are critical institutions for all the countries because of their crucial role in collecting revenues, implementing provisions of trade policy, securing the country from illegal trade and collecting trade statistics. Mr. DELİÇAY underlined that the global trade increased steadily for the last fifty years. However, this increase was led by developed and some of the developing countries. Many developing countries and the LDCs could not increase their trade at desired level due to some reasons such as undiversified economies, higher trade transaction costs etc. Mr. DELİÇAY informed the participants that the international community has been giving more emphasis on the adverse effects of trade transaction costs, which leads to higher costs and time delays for the traders in mid-1990s. In this context, WTO Singapore Ministerial Conference decided to include trade facilitation in the WTO Agenda. It was expressed that trade facilitation aims at simplifying, standardizing and harmonizing the trade procedures. Quoting from the WTO definition, Mr. DELİÇAY stated that trade procedures include activities, practices and formalities involved in collecting, presenting, communicating and processing data required for the movement of goods in international trade. Mr. DELİÇAY also pointed out that, customs procedures and expenditures are important determinants in trade transaction costs. Countries applying lower fees and charges and implementing modern procedures gain competitive advantage in increasing their trade. In this context, Mr. DELİÇAY demonstrated the possible impact of customs procedures on trade facilitation by sharing the findings of empirical studies prepared in recent years. He also added that, international institutions such as World Bank and World Economic Forum are measuring the performance of countries in customs in preparing their Trading Across Borders Index and Enabling Trade Index respectively. He showed some figures from these indices how cost and time of customs procedures differ across countries. For example, the presentation highlighted that according to the Doing Business Report 2014, Customs Clearance and Technical Control in some countries cost less than USD 50 and can be finished in less than one day. On the other 6

12 hand, in some developing countries and in LDCs, the cost of customs clearance and customs control cost more than USD 500 and require more than 10 days to be finalized. Mr. DELİÇAY continued his presentation by introducing the focus areas which gained importance in recent years. According to his presentation, following issues are essential for improving the efficiency of the customs procedures: 1. Assessing the needs and identifying the obstacles 2. Acceding to the relevant international conventions 3. Increasing Transparency and Predictability 4. Implementing Modern Customs Procedures and Formalities 5. Effective use of Information and communications technology With regards to assessing the needs and identifying the obstacles, Mr. DELİÇAY emphasized the importance of the findings of various indicators developed by international institutions such as Doing Business Report, Logistics Performance Index, and Enabling Trade Index etc. He also underlined the necessity of cooperation and coordination among the various stakeholders such as relevant ministries, private sector representatives etc. In this context, he informed the participants that many countries have established their National Trade Facilitation Bodies. He also added that conducting interviews, surveys and meetings with the private sector on identifying the obstacles will help the governments to assess their needs. Furthermore it was stated that several international conventions have been developed an entered into force up to date. These conventions, including Revised Kyoto Convention etc. have important provisions for facilitating trade and increasing the efficiency of customs formalities. (Figure 1) 7

13 Figure 1: Number of Countries Acceding to the Customs Related International Conventions Revised Kyoto Convention ATA Convention İstanbul Convetion HS Convention TIR Convention International Convention on the Harmonization of Frontier Control of Goods WTO Valuation Agreement Source: WCO and UNECE (As of December 2013) Mr. DELİÇAY explained Increasing Transparency and Predictability in customs matters as one of the critical issues for traders. He said that access to information in a timely manner and right of appeal are among the most important factors for the trading community. He added that business people need to know the cost and time required for the clearance of goods in order to estimate their profits. He said that for this reason many Customs Administrations have developed user friendly websites which publishes customs procedures, fees and charges, average customs clearance times, customs working hours etc. on these customs websites. Making reference to the Revised Kyoto Convention and other recommendations developed by the World Customs Organization and the UN Economic Commission for Europe, Mr. DELİÇAY stated that new methods have been developed in order to facilitate the clearance of goods at customs. These procedures include pre-arrival processing, deferred payments, risk management, post clearance audit, authorized economic operators, single window etc. Mr. DELİÇAY also gave some information on the developments of the use of information and communications technologies in customs clearance. He said that the number of countries using the ICT increased dramatically in recent years. He added that ICT can be used for payment of duties and fees, for submitting and processing customs declarations, for publication of customs procedures, for risk management, for single window applications etc. In the last part of his presentation, Mr. DELİÇAY underlined an important fact that, many developing countries and the LDCs are facing difficulties in implementing the aforementioned measures for improving the efficiency of customs procedures. These difficulties include lack of 8

14 political will, underdeveloped legal framework, lack of coordination and cooperation among the relevant agencies and private sector, underdeveloped human resorces and limited financing opportunities. Questions and Comments: - Moderator of the Meeting, Ms. ILICAK expressed that trade facilitation is indeed simplification and harmonization of trade procedures. She added that aim of trade facilitation is improving overall trade environment and thus lowering costs and time of transactions. She mentioned several actions can be taken by countries such as; assessing needs through consultations, acceding international conventions and increasing transparency. - Representative of ITFC stated that each relevant party knows benefits of the trade facilitation. On the other hand it is not an easy process to accomplish this task. He added that creating the right environment for private sector is the key since it is the private sector that makes trade transactions. He also gave brief information on the IDB programs namely Member Country Partnership Strategy (MCPS) and Aid for Trade Initiative for Arab States. He stated that one of the main objectives of Aid for Trade Initiative for Arab States is leveraging partnerships. - Mr. DIOP from GAINDE 2000 expressed that UNECE 2013 document has valuable information and several Member State cases on Single Window. Mr. DIOP expressed that local context should be reviewed carefully because revenue collection becomes the main driver for some countries (especially African Countries) instead of trade facilitation. He also argued that implementing Single Window does not necessarily mean going paperless completely. He told electronic transfer of information is not solely a technology but it also requires signing of Memorandum of Understandings (MoU) between countries. - Representative of Turkey expressed that heavy customs and administrative procedures may have substantial negative effects on trade flows. She told that while customs procedures are needed to prevent illegal trade and smuggling, they may serve as non-tariff barriers impeding trade flows if applied strictly. Ms. EDİS referred World Bank Doing Business Report and gave some information on the Report. She concluded her remarks by agreeing on Mr. AHMED s view regarding the need of a holistic approach. - Representative of UNCTAD stated that one of the key issues is to have multi-party approach which not only involves inter-agency cooperation but also issues regarding governmental topics such as health, standardization, etc. Mr. HANSEN also pointed out that WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement possess an obligation urging Member States to establish national trade facilitation committees. Mr. HANSEN reminded participants that UNCTAD has prepared a Study regarding national trade facilitation committees, which includes various case studies and it can be reached online. 9

15 - Representative of Cameroon Mr. TAKA thanked CCO for the Strategy and expressed his excitement for the acceptance of two Project Cycle Management (PCM) projects submitted by Cameroon. Mr. TAKA told most of the attention is given to facilitation procedures and several stakeholders but one of the actors in the process generally missed is the trader himself. He said a Study conducted in Cameroon shows that one of the reasons behind long delays in customs operations is stemming from the action of importers. He told that importers may have problems in paying customs taxes and fees. Moreover sometimes they even do not have an understanding of the procedures. He told that Cameroon Customs has a website but some importers could not benefit it efficiently. Mr. TAKA also expressed that during the last years, Cameroon Customs was successful in decreasing the average wait time from 21 days to 9 days. - Representative of SESRIC, Mr. BAĞCI stated that SESRIC they has conducted several studies to observe what factors contribute to the development of intra-oic trade. He informed the participants that they have found out that trade costs in the OIC Region is quite high; almost two times higher than the developed countries. He argued that the main reason behind this figure are natural barriers such as distance between countries (or being land locked country), entry costs, cumbersome bureaucratic procedures and high tariff rates. He also mentioned several factors lowering trade costs such as common borders, common currency, regional trade agreement etc. He added they have searched the impacts of trade costs on OIC total trade volumes and found out that 1 percent decrease in trade costs in the Member Countries would increase total trade of the OIC approximately 4.3 percent. Mr. BAĞCI added that 1 percent decrease in trade costs would increase intra-oic trade by 3.9 percent. He also argued that while intra-oic trade has been increasing for the last couple of years, the OIC trade with other countries increased at a higher rate. Lastly Mr. BAĞCI expressed that the Report will be on SESRIC website shortly. 4. General Overview of Customs Procedures in the OIC Member States In his second presentation, Mr. Murat DELİÇAY focused on the General Overview of Customs Procedures in the OIC Member States. The presentation was composed of 6 sections: General Overview Transparency and Predictability Use of Modern Techniques Use of ICT and Automation International Cooperation and Consultations with the Private Sector 10

16 General Overview: Mr. DELİÇAY gave some basic information on the general characteristics of foreign trade of the OIC Member States. According to the presentation, OIC as a group has increased the share of its trade in recent years. In 2012, total OIC exports reached USD Billion, which represents 13.1 percent of total World exports. However, around 70 percent of the total OIC exports were made by top ten exporter OIC Member States. Mr. DELİÇAY underlined that firms are facing some problems in international trade. Referring to the Business Executives Survey conducted by the World Economic Forum in 2012, Mr. DELİÇAY said that firms face the following major obstacles in their exports: Identifying potential markets, Access to trade finance Access to imported inputs at competitive prices Inappropriate production technology and skills Burdensome customs procedures Mr. DELİÇAY continued his presentation by focusing on customs procedures. He stated that in many Member States, customs procedures are relatively costlier and take longer time. He illustrated some figures from World Bank s Trading Across Borders Index. According to the Index, average time and cost required for customs clearance and technical control for both exports and imports are very high in some Member States. Mr. DELİÇAY added that, this situation negatively affects the competitiveness of the Member States. He stressed the importance of improving the customs clearance process for increasing exports and imports int OIC Region. Transparency and Predictability Mr. DELİÇAY informed the participants that transparency and predictability in customs procedures is very important for the traders. In this context, he emphasized the importance of publication of information, establishment of enquiry points, application of advance rulings and implementing modern appeal procedures. According to the presentation, most of the Member States are using official gazettes, circulars etc. for informing the trading community on customs procedures. Mr. DELİÇAY highlighted the fact that, most of the Customs Administrations have established their own websites. However only few of the Member Countries have been using websites effectively. Most of the websites do not provide relevant up to date information on customs procedures. With regards to establishment of enquiry points and application of advance rulings, Mr. DELİÇAY stated that, only few Member States have established enquiry points which are working effectively. Similarly advance rulings are also used by only few Member States. Mr. DELİÇAY grouped the OIC Member States into three regarding the implementation of modern appeal procedures. The first group of countries has not clearly defined an appeal 11

17 procedure for the traders. The second group of countries has defined appeal procedures. However, the procedures are not compatible with international standards. And the last group of countries applies modern customs procedures. Use of Modern Techniques Risk management, deferred payments, post clearance audit, AEO and Single Window are considered as some of the important modern techniques in the presentation. It is expressed that the number of Member States using the modern techniques has been increasing in recent years. Member States have engaged in reform process in customs procedures. In this context, especially the risk management and Single Window applications have increased. However, some Member States using such systems need to improve the implementation to get better results. Referring to the findings of Doing Business Report 2014, Mr. DELİÇAY said that, 30 Member States are using risk based inspections and 16 Member States have single window which link some government agencies. Use of ICT and Automation Mr. DELİÇAY emphasized that most of the Member States have recognized the importance of the usage of ICT and Automation in customs procedures due to their contribution to revenues, facilitating the clearance process etc. Referring to the Doing Business Report 2014, Mr. DELİÇAY stated that 35 Member States are allowing electronic submission and processing of declarations. He underlined that, despite using ICT, some Member States require manual submission of declarations and electronic ones together which complicates the process. Mr. DELİÇAY informed the participants that some Member States have established their own ICT systems for customs clearance process and others have installed ASYCUDA, developed by the UNCTAD. He highlighted that 20 Countries have installed ASYCUDA World (which is the latest version with more fuctions) and 12 countries have installed ASYCUDA ++. International Cooperation According to the presentation, most of the OIC Member States have engaged in bilateral, regional and multilateral cooperation in the recent years. With regards to bilateral cooperation, Mr. DELİÇAY said that some Member States have increased their efforts for mutual assistance and cooperation with neighboring or other countries. In this context, some countries have signed bilateral agreements for cooperation in customs matters. Mr. DELİÇAY also stated that, some of the Free Trade Agreements signed by several Member States, especially with the developed countries, have important provisions on customs procedures. Mr. DELİÇAY emphasized that regional cooperation on customs matters is also recognized by many Member States. He said Regional Economic Groupings such as GCC, WAEMU and CEMAC 12

18 have common customs code and others such as ASEAN and ECO have focused on improving the customs procedures. Regarding the multilateral cooperation, Mr. DELİÇAY underlined that several conventions, recommendations and tools have been developed by the WCO and UNECE up to date. He said many of the OIC Member States have not acceded to some of these conventions (Figure 2). Figure 2: Number of OIC Member States Acceding to the Customs Related International Conventions Source: Data from WCO, UNECE and WTO Consultations with the Private Sector Lastly, Mr. DELİÇAY said that consultations with the private sector have various benefits for the Customs Administration such as determining the needs, identifying the obstacles etc. Furthermore he referred to the findings of UNCTAD and said that 20 Member States have established their National Trade Facilitation Bodies. However, he noted that, some of the trade facilitation bodies established in the Member States are not functioning effectively due to lack of interest, limited available funding etc. According to the presentation, the countries which have not established national trade facilitation bodies are conducting consultations with the private sector when they consider it deems necessary. Questions and Comments: - Moderator of the Meeting, Ms. ILICAK made several remarks on the presentation. She pointed out that time and costs for customs procedures differ for the OIC Countries. Ms. ILICAK then opened the floor for discussion by asking the following two questions to participants; What are the obstacles regarding customs procedures in Member Countries and what are the needs to overcome these obstacles. 13

19 - Representative of ICDT, Mr. SALL asked that why TPS-OIC Agreement was not mentioned in the presentation under the title international cooperation since it is a very useful tool to increase trade among the OIC Member Countries. In responding to Mr. SALL s question, Mr. DELİÇAY underlined that, TPS-OIC is a preferential agreement and aims at liberalizing trade among the OIC Member States. Since the topic is more related to trade facilitation, the presentation did not highlight TPS-OIC. He also added that, the TPS-OIC has few provisions on customs such as customs valuation rules. - Representative of Egypt, Mr. KHALIL gave information on a model initiated in 2006 in Egypt which foresees cooperation between Egyptian Authorities and the private sector. He told that the model implemented initially in a port placed in north of Suez and afterwards it will be implemented in other ports as well. Mr. KHAIL expressed that the model establishes an electronic system between related stakeholders. He expressed that a significant reduction in time was achieved through the use of the electronic system. He stated that currently they are working on establishing electronic systems for 17 other centers in collaboration with the private contractors. - Representative of Turkey, Ms. EDİS explained that despite the vast differences it is not inaccurate to say that most of the LDCs face similar problems on customs procedures such as lack of financing, lack of technical capacity etc. She also stressed that a deeper cooperation with the private sector would be helpful to overcome main obstacles. Ms. EDİS reminded participants that Turkey is a part of the WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement and she expressed that Turkey is willing to share its experience with the other OIC countries to help them implementing the Agreement. She concluded her remarks by sharing information on a World Bank research conducted in 2009 titled Time as a determinant of comparative advantage. 5. Reforming Customs Procedures: Success Stories a) Experience of Malaysia Representative of Malaysia, Mr. Jamal ISMAIL, Senior Assistant Director of Customs from Royal Malaysian Customs Department made a presentation regarding modernisation and automation of Customs in Malaysia. Mr. ISMAIL firstly illustrated general information on Malaysia and its customs. In his presentation, Mr. ISMAIL underlined that the vision of Malaysian Customs is to be a world class customs administration by the year He added that the mission of the Royal Customs Department of Malaysia was defined as to spur economic growth, preserve national security and society s well being through revenue collection, trade and industrial facilitations. 14

20 Mr. ISMAIL continued his presentation by focusing on Malaysia s practice on modernization and automation. He stated that there have been many important benefits of the modernization and automation processes such as: Speeding up customs clearance, Contributing to the national economy by collecting revenue, Assisting the Government to implement national and international policy, Combating fraud and the illegal trafficking of prohibited and restricted goods, Increasing customs revenue for national budgets, Ensuring correct declaration of goods and calculation of duty/tax. Mr. ISMAIL gave information on the Royal Custom Department of Malaysia s electronic program and applications. He firstly introduced the e-manifest. He stated that e-manifest enables the applicant to send information (such as vessel name, voyage number, weights, consignee name, consignor s name etc.) via online system without visiting government offices to submit printed documents. Mr. ISMAIL epressed that the benefits of the program are as follows; fast Customs clearance, reduced waiting time, reduced human intervention, reduced inventory costs, easier Customs procedures, and less workload. Mr. ISMAIL then described the customs verification initiative (CVI) which is a risk management tool giving instruction to the assesment officer to take action if it deems necessary. He stated that there are several selectivity indicators and three levels of risk classifications. He told that high risk items are checked for physical examination whereas document check is made for medium risk items. Mr. ISMAIL underlined that pre-arrival clearance could also be done through the sytem. In this method declarations can be submitted 14 days prior to arrival of goods as long as the declaration is accurate, goods are not held up by risk management and all duty/taxes related to goods is paid. Mr. ISMAIL then briefed participants on auto release program. He told that the program enables importation of raw material by the high compliance licence manufacturing warehouse to produce finished goods for the export market. He stated that import declaration is released automatically by the system through using registration numbers. He argued that this system contributes to time and cost reduction. Mr. ISMAIL also mentioned about a similar system namely e-excise. He told that e-excise coordinates the release of vehicles from the assembler factory and the payment of excise duty to the Customs Department by Electronic Fund Tranfer (EFT). Mr. ISMAIL also explained the e-seal identification device (RFID). He told that it uses wireless non-contact use of radio-frequency electromagnetic fields to transfer data, for the purposes of automatically identifying and tracking tags attached to objects. He told that tags contain electronically stored information and some tags are read at short ranges (a few meters) by magnetic fields. He expressed benefits of using RFID as follows: Increase in the efficiency of container clearance. 15

21 Reduced waiting time at the customs check point. Reduced congestion at inspection locations. Improved security through the automatic detection. Optimization of human resources for better services. Mr. ISMAIL continued his presentation by briefing on Malaysian AEO Programme. He stated that Malaysia s Authorized Economic Operator (AEO) program was introduced in He suggested that the program has several benefits including the following; Lodgement of declaration with minimum data, automated and fast approval of declaration and fast clearance without physical examination. Mr. ISMAIL stated that in order to apply for the AEO program in Malaysia, the entity should have a high level of compliance to customs legal and regulatory requirements. Moreover the entity should operate in the country for past three years with a clean track record. He noted that as of September 2013, 48 companies accredited as AEO. Mr. ISMAIL added that Malaysia has been negotiating with Japan on signing a mutual recognition agreement for AEO. Mr. ISMAIL finally briefed the participants on the new electronic system of Malaysian Customs, namely UCustoms. He underlined that the system allows the users to upload information from anywhere at anytime. He also stated that main objective of the system is to improve the efficiency of Customs services and facilitation of competitive trade and compliance with international standards through a single electronic portal system that is fast, safe and customer-friendly. Mr. ISMAIL concluded his presentation by illustrating schemes regarding flow of processes in UCustoms System. b) Experience of Turkey in AEO and Single Window (SW) Ms. Mehtap Ardıç TİREN and Ms. Bilgehan DAĞKIRAN from Turkish Ministry of Customs and Trade made a joint presentation about Turkey s experience on AEO program and Single Window. In first part of the presentation Ms. TİREN briefed participants on Turkish AEO program. She defined the AEO program as a trade facilitation program in which qualified operators may apply and receive AEO certification. Ms. TİREN then gave some background information on the Programme. She told that the program was launched on January 10th, Up to date seven Turkish companies have been awarded with AEO certificates and evaluation process continues for ten other companies. She also stated that, Turkey has examined various similar programs in EU countries, made workshops with Dutch and South Korean administrations and carried out surveys with exporters and consignors prior to launching the Programme. In the following parts of her presentation, Ms. TİREN focused on basic principles of the program. Firstly, she underlined that any legal or real person is eligible for the program as long as the following criterias are met; Established within Turkey (free zones included), Have been in operation for at least 3 years, 16

22 Have an adequate traceable documentation system, Have financial solvency, Practise the necessary safety and security measures. Ms. TİREN then introduced the benefits of the AEO Program in Turkey. She argued that the program has the following benefits: Be given a lower risk score for risk profiling within the risk management system Be given priority treatment if physical or paper based controls are to be conducted Reduced data sets for entry and exit summary declarations Submit declaration with incomplete documentation Guarantee facilitations (comprehensive or reduced guarantee) Blue line facilitation (no physical or paper-based controls) Right of local clearance for export regime (only AEOs) Right of authorized consignor (only AEOs) Use of the AEO logo Ms. TİREN underlined that although there is no expiry date for the validation of AEO certificate, authorization can be reviewed if there are major changes to the relevant legislation and/or there would be reasonable indication that the relevant conditions and criteria are no longer being met by the AEO. Moreover periodical evaluations take place to determine whether the AEO still possess basic criterias. Ms. TİREN lastly illustrated the certification process of the AEO programme. According to the presentation, an application first is submitted to Regional Directorate. After the initial preevaluation, a report on the application is sent to General Directorate of Risk Management and Customs Control. In the third stage, auditors visit premises of the company and check if the company met the criterias for having an AEO certificate. Consequently an audit report is sent to the General Directorate of Risk Management and Customs Control for the final evaluation. After the approval, regional directorate issues AEO certification for the company. Ms. TİREN concluded her presentation by stressing the importance of Mutual Recognition Agreements (MRA) which allows AEO certificates to be recognized by the partners in international trade. She added that Turkey has been negotiating with EU, USA and South Korea towards this end. Ms. TİREN s presentation was followed by a presentation on Turkey s experience on Single Window (SW) by Ms. Bilgehan DAĞKIRAN. In her presentation, Ms. DAĞKIRAN firstly emphasized the benefits of Single Window applications. Then she gave some background information on Turkey s SW experience. According to the presentation, Turkey has initated legal processes for SW in March, She told that up to date, action plans were preaped, meetings were conducted with shareholders and protocols were signed with them for the exchange of data. 17

23 While describing the implementation phase, Ms. DAĞKIRAN underlined that, the implementation has been divided into two phases due to complexity of the System. In the first phase, namely e-document phase trader can apply to related public institutions via electronic or paper based methods. Then related institutions send data of the traders to Customs electronically. She added that a registration number is given for each application and status can be checked electronically by using this number. Ms. DAĞKIRAN stated since its inroduction over three hundred applications were made with the system. With regards to the second phase, namely the e-application phase, Ms. DAĞKIRAN stated that currently software studies has been undertaking for the operationalization. She added that after successful completion of the software, the current legislations would be reviewed. She argued that the existing legislations will be improved if it deems necessary. She also told that training sessions will be organized for both public officials as well as traders to provide more efficient use of the SW system. Ms. DAĞKIRAN stated that before full pledge implementation of the system, they envisage implementing a pilot phase to see needs and gaps of the system as well as receive feedback from the stakeholders. In the last part of her presentation, Ms. DAĞKIRAN highlighted the Common Transit Convention (NCTS) in Turkey. She told that NCTS is an agreement in use with EU and EFTA Members. She added that Turkey has been a contracting party to the Convention since December Ms. DAĞKIRAN expressed that the Convention contributes to time and cost savings. She expressed that through use of electronic data traders save time while their containers pass borders. She also argued that besidestime and cost savings, tracebility is achieved. She stated that with using a single tracking number, location of the transit operation could be tracked separately by the officers in departure, arrival and transit operation locations. In this context, she illustrated how the system works with a practical example. In her example, a transit operation starts in Turkey and finishes in Germany with a transport operation in Belgium. She told that Customs officials in Turkey would upload necessary data to the System and send it to the arrival location in Germany. She stated that while all the data related to transit cargo is on the System, officials in Customs location in both Belgium and Germany may assess risk analysis and then can make necessary checks. Ms. DAĞKIRAN concluded her presentation by telling they also established help desks with three level (outsource, legal&business level and IT&international call level) to support operators of the system. Questions and Comments: - Representative of Bangladesh Mr. AHMED asked questions to Malaysian and Turkish delegations. With regards to Malaysia, he asked that is there any mechanism such as an audit mechanism to make the AEO program perform smoothly? He also asked that whether there are any physical interventions for the moderation of the system. - His question on Turkey was related to the common transit convention. He asked if there are any instances that transit guarantee are handled differently. 18

24 Representative of Malaysia, Mr. ISMAIL told that before issuing AEO licence to a company they send an audit system and check premises as well as operational departments. Moreover company s previous work is also checked to assess that if the company complies with Malaysian legislations and laws. He stated that if the company possesses necessary qualifications, AEO licence is issued. Representative of Turkey, Ms. DAĞKIRAN stated that they have defined a guarantee amount and the trader can utilize this gurantee more than once within the defined limits. She added that evaluation for duty and guarantee is calculated based on the goods by utilizing tariff codes. - Representative of Cameroon, Mr. TAKA made remarks regarding Cameroon s experience. He expressed that Cameroon recently initiated performance measurement contracts. He expressed that a problem they experience is tracking transit vehicles. He told that GPS devices are generally placed to vehicles but not to the containers. Therefore sometimes goods may be replaced in the transit corridor without noticed by the Customs officials. He said they have cases especially for petroleum products when oil is replaced with water during the transit operation. Moreover since there is not standardization and automation among neighboring countries, location of the mentioned fraud can not be tracked. He also told that normally export documents should reach to Cameroon Customs after the goods crossed the borders.however he argued that since contracting neighboring country does not apply same standards and documents are also transmitted manually to Cameroon Customs, problems aroused in releasing the bank guarantee. Mr. TAKA also mentioned about a new practice to prevent corruption in Customs. He stated that a call number is created for traders enabling them to report notifications. - Representative of Kazakhstan, Ms. SARYBAYEVA also made some remarks regarding Customs procedures and Customs modernizations in her country. She expressed that Kazakhstan took necessary steps to reduce time and costs of customs operations. She also stated that an electronic system for declarations, namely e-declaration has been developed in Kazakhstan in 2014 for trial implementation. She also added that they have signed agreements with 103 entities for AEOs. - Mr. DELİÇAY from the COMCEC Coordination Office directed a question to representatives of Malaysia and Turkey. He asked if these countries have faced any obstacles during the reform process and how did they respond. Representative of Malaysia, Mr. ISMAIL told that one of the problems is the cost of renewing IT technologies. Secondly there is a challenge for transforming traditional procedures to more modern procedures mainly due to the lack of expertise. He also added that changing and updating legislations remains as another challenge. 19

25 Representative of Turkey, Ms. TİREN expressed that one of the problems was convincing the personnel to use the new system instead of the previous one. She stressed that, training and political will is necessary to overcome the said problem. - Representative of Turkey, Ms. EDİS stated that out of 57 only 11 OIC Member Countries have AOE Programs. In this context, she asked the representative of WCO if there is any initiative of the WCO to encourage these countries to implement AEO Programmes. - Representative of WCO, Mr. PANDEY expressed that currently there are 56 countries with AEO programs in different stage of implementation and the WCO has an objective to increase the number of these countries to 68 by He stated that as WCO they encourage the member states to adapt WCO safety framework and standards. Moreover he expressed that beside compliance and AEO programs, WCO provides technical assistance as well as capacity building training and programs. He also reminded that it is very important to have other stakeholders such as private sector and businesses to adapt criterias. He underlined that for this reason more activities which may create awareness for private sector should be organized. While concluding, Mr. PANDEY made a call to the representatives to attend the upcoming 2 nd Global AEO Conference which will gather relevant experts of Customs Administrations all over the world for three days to share information and best experiences. c) Experience of Turkey in Modernization of Border Crossing Points Ms. Didem DİRLİK from Turkish Ministry of Customs and Trade made a presentation on modernization of Border Crossing Points in Turkey. She firstly stated that relevant Turkish legislation permits public private partnerships (PPP) with private companies and associations. She emphasized that Turkey utilizes Build-Operate-Transfer PPPs (BOT PPP) to modernize land borders across the country. With regards to the BOT PPP, Ms. DİRLİK stated that during the Build phase, the border gate facility is rebuild with private party s financing. In Operate phase, newly rebuilt border gate is operated by the private party for a certain time period based on the agreement between parties. In the final phase of Transfer, private party transfers facilities to the public authority free of charge. She added that the private company is only involved in commercial operations such as operating cafetarias, restaurants and free shops but not in the customs procedures. She also emphasized that sometimes BOT is misundertaken as privatization. Ms. DİRLİK told that they have several BOT operations since 2003 such as Gürbulak and İpsala Border Gates. She also highlighted that since 2005 Turkey has been working closely with a private company named GTIAŞ which is affliated to Union of Chambers of Commerce and Commodity of Turkey for BOT operations. She added so far several projects have been implemented in collaboration with GTIAŞ. 20

26 Ms. DİRLİK argued that through BOTs, they aim changing the ineffective and inefficient buildings/premises into new and modern facilities. She underlined that the BOT model has several advantages such as: providing better facilities with suitable architectures, enabling rapid customs transactions, responsing technological innovations and providing contemporary environment for the users. She then demonstrated some pictures of the facilities taken before and after BOT operations. Ms. DİRLİK told that due to the previous successful experiences, Ministry of Customs and Trade has been signing package protocols with the company which permits it to undertake several BOT operations at once since Ms. DİRLİK argued that modernization of custom gates is not sufficient alone; more should be done for enhancing international cooperation. In this regard she pointed out the joint use of border gates as a good example. Ms. DİRLİK also stated that there are several other alternatives such as joint customs offices and joint customs control which aim at simplification/harmonization of border procedures and elimination of duplicated controls and processes. In this context, she focused on a pilot project which has been ongoing between Turkey and Georgia since The System envisages the declarations to be made in the exit while controls are made at the entry to the countries by only one procedure/data entry. Ms. DİRLİK stressed that the declaration would be under the responsibillity of the country of exit and verification would be carried out in the country of entry. She told that data would be transmitted between the two customs control zone. She added that smooth functioning of the system would require sharing of information between contracting customs. In this context, she listed some of the obstacles faced such as IT compability, use of different language and alphabet (which may cause problems in data entry and analysis), differences in legislations and different international commitments. Before concluding her presentation, Ms. DİRLİK emphasized that, following elements are crucial for the success of the operations: Political will Administrative strategy Motivation of staff In this context, she stressed that training of the personnel is crucial since most important feature that needs particular attention is human resources management. She told approximately ten thousand personnel of the Turkish Customs were trained in the training center of Turkish Ministry of Customs and Trade in 2010 and She added that they also attach importance to international cooperation. In this respect two training programs were organized respectively with Egypt and Afghanistan in Ms. DİRLİK finished her presentation by recommending participants to review the handbook prepared by OSCE- UNECE which compiles best global practices at Border Crossings. 21

27 6. Private Sector Involvement in Customs Modernization a) Implementation of PPP Projects for Customs Modernization in Turkey Mr. Ali Nehir YÜCEL from Customs and Tourism Enterprises Co. Inc. (GTIAŞ) made a presentation regarding Customs Modernization projects in Turkey. In his presentation, Mr. YÜCEL firstly introduced GTIAŞ, which is a private company established by the Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Turkey (TOBB) in He stated that, GTIAŞ has completed six projects up to date with an approximate amount of USD 200 million. According to Mr. YÜCEL s presentation, GTIAŞ builds facilities including free shops, cafes, restaurants etc. then operates these facilities for a certain period and finally transfers it back to the Turkish Customs. Mr. YÜCEL also briefed the participants on some international projects undertaken by GTIAŞ such as the joint border gate with Syria and signing of memorandum with Iran which envisages modernization of all customs borders in the country. Mr. YÜCEL completed his presentation by sharing basic information and pictures before and after the modernization of customs gate namely; Cilvegözü, Habur, Sarp and Hamzabeyli in Turkey. b) PPP in Implementing Single Window-Senegal s Experience Mr. Mor Talla DIOP, Business Development Director of GAINDE 2000 (a public-private partnership company) made a presentation regarding the implementation of Single Window System (SW) in Senegal. In his presentation, Mr. DIOP firstly underlined that some important aspects should be considered in the implementation of SW. These are as follows; scope of the SW, who will be in charge of implementation and who will be in charge of operating the SW. Mr. DIOP gave special emphasis on the enabling environment for the SW. He said that a comprehensive understanding of processes, knowledge of the drivers for availability of IT and readiness of the personnel are required for the implementation. He also added that analyzing the capacity of the country prior to implementation of SW is important. Mr. DIOP stated that there is no need to stress IT dimension of SW since technology is available today. On the other hand he stressed that crucial issue is sustaining the level of committment of people for change. As an example he argued that personnel in Cameroon Customs Offices may prefer using manual customs procedures instead of newly modernized e-declaration 22

28 systems. Mr. DIOP also stated that process of designing the electronic systems should be under the control of public authority. Otherwise software vendors would design the system according to their own interpretations. He told that what expected from the software should be understood and explained clearly. With regards to institutional capacities, Mr. DIOP stressed the importance to grasp capabilities of national institutions. He said some of the institutions may only use manuel systems for their daily operations. Therefore he expressed that transition to electronic systems shall be arranged according to the capabilities of the institutions. With regards to Mutual Recognition Agreements, Mr. DIOP stated that while the document could be transmitted electronically between the two customs institution, another dimension is detemining document s authencity. He argued that MRAs between countries would provide authenticity to the documents. Mr. DIOP shared a figure exhibiting a global implementation framework for the electronic system. Framework has three main stages; identification, definition and monitoring. He stated that in the identification stage, following actions should be undertaken; assessing the need of legislation or administrative rules, deciding operational model and the technology. Regarding definition stage, he mentioned that while electronic transformation is a part of trade facilitation, it should be noted that customs procedures is also a recognized as a revenue generating activity by the governments. For the monitoring phase; he stated that a high level authority should be assigned such as prime ministers office or an authority able to gather related stakeholders. Mr. DIOP gave an example from his country Senegal. He told that Senegal has been using electronic customs procedures since On the other hand he stated that real progress has been achieved with a new management assigned to Customs in He emphasized that real difference is made with the commitment and will of the people, not through the use of technology. Mr. DIOP mentioned that new laws, decrees, rulings and memorandums passed in Senegal since 2004 for the implementation of electronic procedures in Customs. He stressed legal work is necessary for the operationalization of the system. Mr. DIOP then expressed there are two models for Single Window. Model 1 does not require electronic signatures whereas Model 2 is a full pledge paperless method operates with electronic signatures. He said in this regard SW is not solely an electronic form but it also necetitates authorization of the signatures and designing e-signatures. He added that for the aim of safe keeping of the data, kryptolgogy and other measures were also embedded into the legislation. Mr. DIOP shared information on operational aspects of paperless transactions. He showed pictures of the device token which every single user of the platform possess. Token is similar to a credit card but it also provides a personal pin number to its users. He stated while the 23

29 tokens are manufactured by a French company, it is Gainde 2000 that determines authorization to users. In final part of his presentation, Mr. DIOP gave information regarding his company Gainde 2000 which was established in He said that the company was established as a separate entity from Senegalese Customs to have private sector perspectives in terms of management. He expressed that their job is not only initializing the system but to operate and monitor the system on a daily basis. He argued automation does not mean going paperless. He expressed that going paperless means changing working environment. Mr. DIOP utilized diagrams showing pre and after paperless environment to better illustrating the concept. He mentioned that Customs Management was governed by the Customs itself while Gainde 2000 handles pre and post clearance processes. Mr. DIOP stated that if there is lack of a mutual agreement with another country exists, documents still be submitted in hard copy format. Mr. DIOP briefed participants that 42 border agencies and private stakeholders such as banks, insurance companies, importers and custom brokers interconnected under the umbrella of Senegal Integral Single Window System. He argued that by utilizing the system, procedural times reduced approximately by %70. Mr. DIOP also stated they have been preparing reports every month regarding their performance to have a self evaluation. He added they also have an incentive program for officers with good working performance. Mr. DIOP shared some important lessons learnt from Senegal s experience. He told that it is very likely to have a hostile approach from employees when they are first introduced to a new system. However people finally be convinced when they actually see the benefits of the new system during the implementation. Some key recommendations listed in Mr. DIOP s presentation are as follows: Early consideration of Human Factors implications Starting with more Relevant Stakeholders Avoiding total Reengineering to maintain Commitment Controlling the Infrastructure in order to minimize assistance needs Preventing Complexity where Simplicity can be a solution Questions and Comments: - With regards to the BOT Model in Turkey, representative of Cameroon, Mr. TAKA asked the duration of the contracts for modernization projects accomplished by GTIAŞ. In responding to the raised question, representative of GTIAŞ, Mr. YÜCEL expressed that duration depends of the negotiations and scope of the project. He also noted that the contracts do not have a certain time period however up to date they have different operation periods starting from 7 years to 20 years. - Representative of UNCTAD, Mr. HANSEN asked the representatives of Turkey and GAINDE 2000 if they could share any numbers regarding the magnitude of the investments. 24

30 Mr. DIOP told that initial investment for the launch of Single Window System was around 100 million CFA (Senegalese Franc) which is approximately USD. He told users need to pay 200 USD at the beginning and Gainde 2000 charges 10 USD per transaction. He added his company makes distribution of the fees collected among the government institutions at each month. In respect to revenue collection Mr. DIOP stated in 2011 Senegelese Customs Administration broke a record by having 500 Billion CFA which was around 400 Billion CFA in previous years. Representative of Turkey, Ms. DİRLİK argued that border modernization was not solely designed upon profit and cost calculation. She said there are numerous elements such as strategic importance of the border gate, trade volume and number of passengers crossing the border in the selection of border modernization etc. 7. The WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement and Its Possible Impact on Customs Modernization Mr. Poul Damgaard HANSEN from UNCTAD made a presentation focusing on the WTO Agreement on Trade Faciliation (ATF) which was negotiated in Bali, Indonesia and its possible impact on customs modernization. Mr. HANSEN expressed that there is a tendency toward WTO Agreements as only developed countries and large multinational corporations benefited from the Agreements. He said although relatively it may be true, developing countries and least developed countries may achieve their own development goals by having higher trade volumes. He added trade facilitation is indeed very effective in this context. Mr. HANSEN expressed that based on different level of progress in various countries; ATF has a differentiated approach. He added countries which do not have a certain level of capacity for implementation of the Agreement may ask for technical assistance from other countries having better position. Mr. HANSEN showed a diagram exhibiting international supply chain model. He argued that if two actors in the system performs with %90 capacity this does not mean overall system operates with %90 efficiency but it is rather %81 percent due to multiply effect ( %90 x %90 = %81). He stated that all the elements in the chain is a stakeholder for the ATF. He pointed out that one of the ways to involve all related parties is having National Trade Facilitation Committies which is forseen in the Agreement. Mr. HANSEN told that despite the fact that Trade Facilitation Negotiations goes back to 1 st WTO Ministerial Conference, real negotiations began in 2004 with the July package. He expressed that process took more than expected but an Agreement finally was successfully established. He added a committee which will review the text for grammatical errors convened 25

31 its first meeting several weeks ago. Mr. HANSEN told that the committee will continue its work until July 2014 and within this time framework a Protocol for the amendment of WTO Agreement will also be prepared. He said after its finalization, the Protocol will be open for acceptance of the Member States starting from August 2014 until end of July The Protocol will be an annex to the ATF and it will be operationalized after the acceptance of two third of the Member States (equals to 107 Member Countries). Mr. HANSEN stated that previous GATT Agreement also had sections for trade facilitation. He added that these sections reflected into the new ATF Agreement (in its Articles 1 to 13). He expressed that a new concept in WTO is that ATF enables least developed and developing countries to delay implementation of the Agreement for a certain time period. Moreover these countires are able to request technical assistance. Mr. HANSEN told if a contradiction occurs between the ATF and previous agreements of GATT, ATF will prevail. He added that ATF also has provision explaining that the Agreement will not diminish the provisions of previous agreements of GATT in the area of trade facilitation. Mr. HANSEN underlined that ATF presents a self designated three categories to the developing and least developed countries. In category A, countries may declare that related provisions are already in implementation hence measures will apply immediately after entry into force of the Agreement. In category B, countries designate certain time period and declare these provisions would be applied after expiration of a transition period. In category C, countries may declare they can only implement provisions in certain time period (up to 5 years) with the help of technical assistance and capacity building programs. He informed that all ATF provisions are binding for all Members therefore a country must comply with the Agreement after its signature. He also added that developing countries shall implement provisions upon entry into force of the ATF without any delay. Mr. HANSEN shared a detailed diagram showing tasks of ATF stakeholders in a time frame format. He reminded that the Agreement will be presented to countries for submittal on July 31 st 2014 but developing and less developed countries will be asked to inform TF Committee about the measures they can implement immediately by July 31 st Mr. HANSEN stressed that operationalization of the Agreement can be achieved by the first day after July 31 st 2015 with the ratification of required number of member states or it may take a longer period in case there is not enough number of ratifying member countries. Mr. HANSEN informed the participants that UNCTAD prepared a national Trade Facilitation Plan for each member state based on the questionnares and surveys. He added that they work with a national consultant who investigates country s potential in the implementation of ATF measures. The plan includes time and cost required for implementation of certain measures by the country. Mr. HANSEN pointed out that up to date they presented 26 national plans to member countries which they may benefit for their internal processes. Based on the conclusion of national plans, Mr. HANSEN emphasized that most of the countries experience problems regarding lack of human resource and funding. He added that interestingly many of 26

32 them also lack legislative framework to implement ATF measures. Therefore he recommended Member States to review their current legislations and examine how ATF measures can be adapted into them. At this point Mr. HANSEN announced that UNCTAD will be ready help countries wishing to initialize a national program. Before concluding his presentation, Mr. HANSEN emphasized two important points. Firstly, he underlined the importance of publication of information on customs procedures, Single Window and AEO programs in their websites. He told that many traders have difficulties to obtain basic information such as border opening schedules, visa and fee charges etc. Secondly, he stated that freedom of transit is a disputed issue and there are many international law cases. He told transits may require many processes and paper work. Hence he expressed that ATF can also be helpful for countries in the area of transit by its trade facilitation measures. He also added that ATF might also contribute to transparency and anti-corruption efforts in the Member States. Questions and Comments: - Representative of Turkey Ms. EDİS shared information regarding a study carried out recently by OECD titled WTO Facilitation Agreement and Potential Impact on Trade Costs. She said that two different assumptions were made in the Study based on the condition of implementation. She told that scenario A foresees a country implements each article and provisions in the Agreement. Quoting from the said study, she said that in this scenario, trade cost will be reduced for 14.1 percent in low income countries, %15 in medium income countries and %12.9 for upper income group respectively. Another expert from Turkish Delegation, Mr. TUNCER also shared his experience with participants on the negotiations of WTO. He told that Turkey actively negotiated for six areas in the Agreement such as advance rulings and internet publications but particularly on the issue of freedom of transit. He argued that they have disagreements with some developed countries including EU on some measures on freedom of transit during the negotiations. However he expressed in the last hours of negotiations in December 6 th, 2013 finally an agreement was achieved upon the text. He stated the first three paragraphs of Article 11 were mostly drafted by Turkey. He added with the new Agreement, considerable progress is achieved on GATT Article 5. - Representative of ITFC, Mr. AHMED also stressed the importance of ATF. He told that his own institution as well as other OIC Institutions will be happy to provide support to Member Countries in WTO related issues. He added that ATF should be taken into consideration seriously, word by word since it is the only international agreement which will regulate facilitation of international trade. - Mr. HANSEN agreed with the remarks made by participants. He told that one of the confusing issues is the coordination of various donor countries and international organizations that are willing to provide technical assistance. He said there could be 27

33 excess and overlapping information without proper coordination. He also added there is already a mechanism within the WTO for coordination. 8. The Way Forward a) Capacity Building and Technical Assistance Activities of the WCO Representative of WCO, Mr. PANDEY made a presentation titled WCO Trade Facilitation Instruments and Tools-Technical Assistance and capacity Building. Mr. PANDEY firstly briefed participants regarding WCO Strategy. He said that WCO Strategic Plan has 4 Vision pillars namely; Trade Facilitation & Securtiy, Fair & Effcient Revenue Collection, Protection of Society and Institutional & Human Resource Development. He then expressed that they have 179 member Customs Administrations which collectively process around %98 of the world trade. He stated main duties of WCO lies in three areas namely; Standards (developing and updating conventions), Technical Assistance/Capacity Building (supporting members to implement standards) and Cooperation (establishing dialogue with other stakeholders). Mr. PANDEY shared some important tools of WCO such as Revised Kyoto Agreement and Istanbul Convention with the participants. He added that one of the most important tools for securing global supply chain is SAFE Framework of Standards to Secure and Facilitate Global Trade. He stated currently 168 Member State intended to implement the Framework which has following objectives: To secure and facilitate trade supply chain at the global level Integrated supply chain management for all modes of transport Strengthen Customs to Customs co-operation Strengthen Customs to Business co-operation Coordinated Border Management and Single Window Mr. PANDEY mentioned that SAFE framework deals with harmonizing the advance electronic information, employing a consistent risk management approach. Moreover the framework focuses on outbounding inspection of high risk consignments and ensuring providing benefits to businesses. He also stated that there is a review mechanism for SAFE Framework 2015 Safe Review Cylce. He stated that the cycle includes three pillars; cooperation between customs, cooperation between customs and private sector and cooperation between customs and other Governmental Agencies. Mr. PANDEY shared information about one of the most important aspects of their work is the Technical Assistance and Capacity Building efforts. He stated there are three phases related to Technical Assistance and Capacity Building Programs. He stated that the first phase includes a diagnostic assessment of the Member Customs Administration. In phase two, experts visit the 28

34 field for planning and implementation based on the diagnostic assessment. He added last phase involves evaluation and monitoring of the cycle. Mr. PANDEY named some Technical Assistance and Capacity Building programs established by WCO namely; Columbus Plan (deals with implementation of SAFE Standards), Donors Engagement Program, Diagnostic Framework, PICARD (partnership with customs economic research) and Learning Program. Mr. PANDEY also gave brief information on the structure of WCO. He stated that they have approximately 400 accredited experts whom all work in the Customs Administrations of the Member States. He said WCO has an e-learning/training platform named Click which has and more than 250 hours of training courses in 13 different languages. He also shared a world map showing regional training centres and regional capacity offices of WCO spanning all around the globe. Mr. PANDEY mentioned that some guidance tools currently are under the implementation of WCO. He stated WCO aims to provide implementation guidance for the WTO Agreement on Trade Facilitation (ATF). He said the guidance is a web tool or USB which contains valuable information to assist WCO Members to implement each provision of the ATF. He gave more information on implementation guideline of interactive web tool which provides relevant publications with individual articles of ATF as well as performance indicators with the aim of helping each Member States to make a self-evaluation. Mr. PANDEY concluded his presentation by giving information about WCO Working Group on the WTO ATF which will be held on March 11-12, He added that the Meeting will be open for all Member Countries and other stakeholders such as private sector representatives. He also reminded that WCO selects a theme for each year and this year s theme is Communication for better cooperation. And by saying so he called upon Member States to communicate more with other stakeholders in the process as well as with each other. b) Meeting the Challenges in Customs Modernization in the OIC Member States Mr. Murat DELİÇAY, Expert from the COMCEC Coordination Office made a presentation on possible ways and means of meeting the challenges in customs modernization in the OIC Member States. With regards to the major common challenges, Mr. DELİÇAY underlined the following: Customs Fees and Charges are high in some Member States, Cargo Clearance procedures are complex and time consuming, Traders face difficulties in access to relevant information, Appeal procedures need to be developed, Legal framework shall be amended to meet international standards, Use of modern customs clearance techniques is limited, Use of ICT is very limited, Cooperation and coordination with the stakeholders shall be improved. 29

35 Mr. DELİÇAY then suggested that, the Member States need to give special emphasis on three stages of implementing the customs reform namely designing, implementing and monitoring the reforms. Designing the Customs Reforms: Mr. DELİÇAY stated that, establishment of a well functioning coordination mechanism within the country is crucial. Such mechanism was established in some countries through National Trade Facilitation Committees which brings the relevant agencies and private sector representatives regularly together. In this context, he suggested the Member States which have not done so to consider establishing such kind of committees. Mr. DELİÇAY also suggested the countries which have already established such mechanisms to review its effectiveness to get the maximum results. Mr. DELİÇAY also stressed the importance of conducting need assessments prior to designing such reforms. In this context, he emphasized the importance of involvement of private sector in this process to get their views and comments. Lastly, Mr. DELİÇAY stressed the need for improving the legal framework in order to implement the reforms efficiently. He stated that, some of the modern procedures require amendment of the existing laws or replacement of them with the new ones. Implementing and monitoring the Customs Reforms: Based on the review of the international experiences, Mr. DELİÇAY suggested that following factors play crucial role in implementing the customs reforms effectively: Political Will Coordination with the relevant stakeholders Institutional Arrangements Human Resources Management Financing Mr. DELİÇAY noted that some countries face difficulties in these areas during the implementation phase. In this respect, he emphasized that the implementation shall be reviewed regularly to remove the obstacles limiting the impact of such reforms. Possible Areas of Technical Cooperation and Capacity Building In the last part of his presentation, Mr. DELİÇAY stressed the importance of international cooperation to improve the efficiency of customs procedures. In this context, he emphasized the important role of the COMCEC to play in enhancing technical cooperation among the Member States and contributing to capacity building in the area of customs. Based on the review of the customs procedures in the Member States, Mr. DELİÇAY listed the following areas to be given special attention for the cooperation: Conducting Need Assessments Acceding to the International Conventions 30

36 Drafting Laws Institutional Arrangements Coordination Mechanisms-Trade Facilitation Bodies Publication of Information Risk Management Post Clearance Audit Single Window Authorized Economic Operators Advance Rulings Appeal Procedures Customs Valuation Human Resources Management Mr. DELİÇAY noted that some Member States have remarkable experience in the aforementioned areas. Therefore, experience sharing programmes between the Member States would provide substantial benefits to the Member States who need assistance in these areas. Mr. DELİÇAY added that, in addition to the experience sharing programs, training programs, seminars and workshops could be organized for the benefit of the Member States. In this context, he requested the Member States to benefit from the funding mechanism of the COMCEC Project Cycle Management (PCM) to assist their efforts. Mr. DELİÇAY lastly announced the readiness of the COMCEC Coordination Office to work closely with the IDB Group, ICDT and relevant international institutions to organize seminars and other technical cooperation activities on the aforementioned topics for the benefit of the Member States. c) Utilizing the COMCEC Project Funding The last presentation of the Meeting was performed by Mr. Deniz GÖLE, an expert from the COMCEC Coordination Office (CCO). His presentation was dedicated to the new Project Cycle Management (PCM) mechanism introduced by the COMCEC Strategy. Mr. GÖLE firstly explained the concept of the PCM, and briefed the audience on the stance of PCM within the COMCEC Strategy. The COMCEC PCM is one of the implementation instruments of the COMCEC Strategy which provides the opportunity to the Member States registered to the working groups, to submit projects to the COMCEC Coordination Office to be funded. 31

37 Mr. GÖLE underlined the distinguished qualifications of the COMCEC PCM as simple and clearly defined procedures and financial framework. He also described the potential project owners as the relevant ministries and other public institutions of the Member Countries and OIC Institutions operating in the field of economic and commercial cooperation. The presentation continued with the explanation on the Project Selection Criteria under the COMCEC PCM which are, compliance with Strategy s Principles, targeting strategic objectives of the strategy, focusing on output areas and pursuing multilateral cooperation among the COMCEC Member Countries. Regarding the nature of the projects, Mr. GÖLE stressed that the projects should be Technical Cooperation and Capacity Building projects such as researches, analytical studies, guides, roadmaps, study visits, conferences, workshops etc. The presentation also included information on the three key actors and their responsibilities under the PCM. These are as follows: CCO (Program Management), Intermediary Bank (Project Monitoring and Financing) and Project Owner (Project Submission and Implementation). Regarding the details on project implementation and financing procedures, Mr. GÖLE clarified that Project Owners must submit invoices to the Intermediary Bank (the Bank) in order to claim payment during project implementation. Monitoring of projects funded by the CCO was another issue explained in the presentation. The Bank would be mainly responsible for financial and technical monitoring of projects while the CCO would oversee the overall implementation of the PCM. Reporting procedures of project activities were also explained to that end. With respect to the financial framework, Mr. GÖLE emphasized that the funds were grant in nature and would be provided by the Turkish Government for the period. He also cited that each cooperation area defined in the COMCEC Strategy would have a certain share from those funds. In conclusion, Mr. Göle presented statistics regarding the First Call for Project Proposals under the COMCEC PCM including inter alia- number of project submissions, number of countries and OIC institutions submitted projects and project distribution by cooperation area. Mr. GÖLE lastly reminded the participants that, there will be another call for project proposals in September Questions and Comments: After the presentation, Mr. Fatih ÜNLÜ from COMCEC Coordination Office asked for the floor to share his views regarding WTO Agreement on Trade Facilitation. Mr. ÜNLÜ stated that implementation process of ATF will be quite comprehensive considering the extent of the Agreement. He told that dispute settlement and conciliation mechansims possess great importance in this regard. He said that technical assistance programs provided by developed countries are also very important but in some cases technical assistance 32

38 programs do not provide enough benefit due to different intentions. He added that the donor country should be very sincere and clear intention for the assistance program. He argued that at this point role of international organizations crucial in respect to coordination. He gave an example by saying through the intermediation of international organizations such as COMCEC, multilateral development banks may finance Member State projects such as customs, database infrastructure, training of employess and etc. He also added that a master plan can be designed by WTO and other relevant organizations which may indicate roles of each international organizations, multileateral development banks and individual countries. Mr. HANSEN from UNCTAD agreed with Mr. ÜNLÜ s remarks. He told currently there is not a dispute settlement mechanism but there would be one after the operationalization of the Agreement. He expressed it is also important for each country to include trade facilitation to their own national development plans as a sub-element. He also expressed that master plan is indeed a good idea and he would take this idea back to Geneva for further contemplation. He concluded his remarks by saying government institutions other than customs should also be involved in trade facilitation efforts and be in coordination with each other for successful implementation. Mr. AHMED from ITFC argued that the reason for long period for the acceptance of the Agreement stems due to countries cautiousness since it is an international Agreement and binds countries actions. Thus reaction of countries especially developing and LDCs toward dispute settlement mechanism will be mindful. Therefore he argued that all parties shall be very careful on dispute settlement mechanisms. 9. Closing Remarks Moderator of the Meeting, Ms. ILICAK thanked all representatives from the OIC Member States and the international organizations for sharing information and their experiences. She stressed that the Meeting provided opportunity to review trade facilitation concept, the issues regarding customs procedures and to learn best practices. Mr. EKER, General Director of the COMCEC Coordination Office thanked all participants and reminded that the main aim of the COMCEC Working Group Meetings is gathering relevant experts of the Member States in each cooperation area to facilitate learning process and to share knowledge and experiences to meet development challenges challenges in the COMCEC Region. Mr. EKER wished that the Analytical Study and Outlook Report prepared for the Meeting will serve as reference documents to the participants. Mr. EKER reminded that the fourth Meeting of the COMCEC Trade Working Group will take place on October 23 rd 2014 with the theme of Trade Liberalization, more specifically focusing on Trade Preferential System of the OIC (TPS-OIC). He stated that an Analytical Study will be prepared and circulated to Member States before the Meeting as well. Mr. EKER also informed participants that six projects in the area of trade were shortlisted within the framework of the Project Cycle 33

39 Management (PCM) and final list of approved projects will be announced shortly in the COMCEC web page. He expressed that PCM mechanism provides an important opportunity to Member Countries institutions to improve their capacity as well as to enhance multilateral cooperation. Mr. EKER concluded his remarks by wishing a safe trip to all participants. 34

40 Annex I: List of Participants of the Third Meeting of the COMCEC Trade Working Group A. INVITED STATES PEOPLE S REPUBLIC OF BANGLADESH - Mr. HUSSAIN AHMED Member, National Board of Revenue REPUBLIC OF CAMEROON - Mr. GEORGE DOBGIMA TAKA Customs Captain, Customs UNION OF THE COMOROS - Ms. ARCHATI ASSANALY Director General, Ministry of Finance and Economy ARAB REPUBLIC OF EGYPT A - Mr. FOUAD BESHEIR ALI KHALIL Chief of Customs System, Egyptian Customs Authority REPUBLIC OF INDONESIA - Mr. PUDJIYANTO Deputy Director, Ministry of Trade - Ms. YENNI HERNAWATI Head of Section, Ministry of Trade - Ms. DYAH L. ASMARANI First Secretary, Embassy of the Republic of Indonesia REPUBLIC OF IRAQ - Mr. MAJED EBEID ABBAS Manager, Ministry of Trade 35

41 HASHEMITE KINGDOM OF JORDAN - Mr. JANTI GLAZOGA Counsellor, Embassy of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan REPUBLIC OF KAZAKHSTAN - Ms. DANA YELEUZHANOVA Expert, Customs Control - Ms. BIBINUR SARYBAYEVA Expert, Customs Control STATE OF LIBYA - Mr. ESAM ALMALHUOF Employee, Ministry of Economy MALAYSIA - Mr. JAMAL ISMAIL Senior Director, Customs REPUBLIC OF MALI - Mr. SIDI MOHAMED ICHRACH Counciller, Ministry of Trade KINGDOM OF MOROCCO - Mr. MOHAMMED ZERROUKI First Undersecretary, Embassy of Morocco in Ankara SULTANATE OF OMAN - Mr. SHAIKHAN MOHAMMED AL-SALMI Advisor, Ministry of Commerce and Industry - Mr. SALIM AL HAJRI Economic Researcher, Supreme Council for Planning 36

42 STATE OF PAKISTAN - Mr. MIAN ATIF SHARIF First Secretary, Embassy of Pakistan STATE OF PALESTINE - Ms. AWATIF ABDALLAH Director, Customs Procedures - Ms. MANAL DASOUQI Acting Director General, Ministry of National Economy STATE OF QATAR - Mr. NAYEF HAMAD AL-HAJRI Head of Foreign Trade Development, Ministry of Business and Trade KINGDOM OF SAUDI ARABIA - Mr. ANWAR BINHASUSAH Deputy Commercial Attache, Consulate of Saudi Arabia in İstanbul REPUBLIC OF SUDAN - Mr. ALI GIDDO ADAM Colonel, Customs - Mr. ABDELAZIZ MABROUK Director General, Ministry of Trade REPUBLIC OF TUNISIA - Mr. SAMI BELHAJ JRAD Head of Service, Ministry of Finance REPUBLIC OF TURKEY - Ms. MÜGE VAROL ILICAK Director General, Ministry of Economy - Ms. ELÇİN EDİS Head of Department, Ministry of Economy 37

43 - Ms. DİDEM DİRLİK Head of Section, Ministry of Customs and Commerce - Mr. TOLGA TUNCER Expert, Ministry of Economy - Ms. ZÖRE AKŞAHİN ŞİMŞEK Expert, Ministry of Economy - Mr. KERİM TOKGÖZ Expert, Ministry of Customs and Commerce - Ms. MEHTAP ARDIÇ TİREN Expert, Ministry of Customs and Commerce - Ms. EMİNE BİLGEHAN DAĞKIRAN Expert, Ministry of Customs and Commerce - Mr. OKTAY AYDINOĞLU Department Chief, Turkish State Railways (TCDD) - Mr. AYHAN ER Engineer, Turkish State Railways (TCDD) - Ms. YILDIZ TEZCAN Staff, Turkish State Railways (TCDD) - Mr. ÖZGÜR AVCI Expert, Ministry of Transportation, Maritime and Communication - Mr. HASAN BOZ Expert, Ministry of Transportation, Maritime and Communication - Mr. İBRAHİM ÖZKAYA Assistant Expert, Ministry of Economy - Ms. BURCU ÖZERGÜL Assistant Expert, Ministry of Customs and Commerce REPUBLIC OF YEMEN - Mr. HAMOOD SHAMSAN Deputy Chairman, Customs Authority 38

44 B. INVITED INSTITUTIONS ISLAMIC CENTRE FOR DEVELOPMENT OF TRADE (ICDT) - Mr. AMODOU CIRE SALL Head of Department, Trade Information INTERNATIONAL ISLAMIC TRADE FINANCE CORPORATION (ITFC) - Mr. SYED HABIB AHMED Acting General Manager Trade Cooperation and Promotion Program - Mr. AYHAN KARACA Manager, Asia & CIS Office Trade Cooperation and Promotion Program STATISTICAL, ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL RESEARCH AND TRAINING CENTRE FOR ISLAMIC COUNTRIES (SESRIC) - Mr. KENAN BAĞCI Senior Researcher THE STANDARDS AND METROLOGY INSTITUTE FOR THE ISLAMIC COUNTRIES (SMIIC) - Ms. EMEL GÖNÇ SG Assistant UNITED NATIONS CONFERENCE ON TRADE AND DEVELOPMENT (UNCTAD) - Mr. POUL DAMGAARD HANSEN Expert WORLD CUSTOMS ORGANIZATION (WCO) - Mr. PASHUPATI NATH PANDEY Technical Officer GAINDE Mr. MOR TALLA DIOP Business Development Director 39

45 C. COMCEC COORDINATION OFFICE - Mr. METİN EKER Director General, Head of COMCEC Coordination Office - Mr. MUSTAFA TEKİN Head of Department - Mr. MURAT DELİÇAY Expert - Ms. VİLDAN BARAN Expert - Mr. DENİZ GÖLE Expert - Mr. AHMET OKUR Assistant Expert - Mr. AYKUT YILMAZ Assistant Expert - Mr. HASAN YENİGÜL Assistant Expert - Mr. ENİS YILDIRIM Assistant Expert - Mr. MEHMET AKİF ALANBAY Assistant Expert - Ms. MÜKERREM ÖZKILIÇ Coordinator of Registration Office - Ms. EBRU ÇETİNKURŞUN KANYILMAZ - Coordinator of Registration Office - Ms. HANDE KARAKUŞ - Coordinator of Registration Office - Ms. GÜL SAYIN - Coordinator of Documentation Center 40

46 - Ms. ZEHRA LEYLA AŞK - Coordinator of Social Program - Mr. KEMAL ARSLAN Coordinator of Meeting Rooms - Mr. ERCAN İBİK Coordinator of Transportation 41

47 Annex II: Programme of the Third Meeting of the COMCEC Trade Working Group PROGRAMME OF THE 3 RD MEETING OF THE COMCEC TRADE WORKING GROUP (February 27 th, 2014, Crowne Plaza Hotel, Ankara) Facilitating Intra-OIC Trade: Improving the Efficiency of Customs Procedures Registration Opening Remarks COMCEC Trade Outlook - Presentation: Ms. Vildan Baran Planning Expert COMCEC Coordination Office Improving the Efficiency of the Customs Procedures: Challenges and Global Trends - Presentation: Mr. Murat Deliçay Planning Expert COMCEC Coordination Office - Questions & Comments Coffee Break Overview of Customs Procedures in the OIC Member States - Presentation: Mr. Murat Deliçay Planning Expert COMCEC Coordination Office 42