The 4th WCO Global AEO Conference 2018 ‘Promoting Mutual Recognition of AEOs to Strengthen and Secure Global Trade’ was held from 14 to 16 March 2018 in Kampala, Uganda.
At the Global AEO Conference, customs administrations, the business community, government and multilateral policymakers, and legal and academic representatives focus on the successes and challenges of customs and the private sector in implementing AEO programmes. The Conference brought together more than 1100 participants from 95 countries and provided a platform for 125 speakers.
INCU Advisory Board Member and President of KGH Border Services, Mr Lars Karlsson and Mr Tom Pham, a PhD student at the Centre for Customs and Excise Studies (CCES), Charles Sturt University (who is writing a thesis on AEO Mutual Recognition) participated in the conference and represented INCU.
During the conference a total of 4 panel sessions, 3 round tables and 49 workshops were held, together with live demonstrations focusing on operational practices directly related to international trade, such as the 17 – point trailer instruction and track – and – trace systems. Participants were involved in the discussions on how AEO programmes and Mutual Recognition Arrangements (MRA) can provide a secure business environment for economic development, enhance compliance level and increase revenue collection and trade facilitation, obtain more benefits with coordinated border management including MRA at both the bilateral and plurilateral level.
Mr Karlsson delivered two presentations at the conference on the topics: “The new AEO paradigm. What are the trends and models for the next generation of AEO programmes? How will stakeholders, new technology, measurements of benefits, MRA and Single Window evolve and be integrated?” and “SAFE, SAFER, SAFEST: Safe Zone, a step towards AEO”. He also participated in the Round Table discussion with the theme “The future of Trusted Trader Regimes, including AEOs and MRAs.”
