The Republic of Türkiye hosted the 5th Meeting of the Committee on Customs Cooperation and the 1st Joint Working Group (JWG) Meeting on Trade Facilitation Strategy/Agreement in Ankara on June 21 and 22, 2023.
Exploring certain ways and means as well as methods for trade facilitation in the region through better and expanded cooperation in customs matters, the meetings looked into various possibilities to boost ECO intra-regional and global trade. The discussants acknowledged the importance of ECO and its instrumental role in bridging the capacity and skill gaps among the Member States specifically to help implement digital and paperless international best practices for improving their customs procedures. Moreover, the participants desired the Draft Trade Facilitation Strategy to be finalized prior to their additional interactions for further and detailed discussions.
Delegations of the Member States, including Azerbaijan, Tajikistan and Türkiye, as well as the ECO Director for Trade and Investment attended the Meeting in-person. However, the Representatives of Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz Republic and Pakistan virtually participated in the event.
