Ankara – April 30, 2025
The 6th Meeting of the ECO Committee on Customs Cooperation (ECCC) was successfully convened in hybrid format on April 30, 2025, in Ankara, Republic of Türkiye. The meeting was attended by delegates from the Republic of Azerbaijan, the Islamic Republic of Iran, the Kyrgyz Republic, the Republic of Kazakhstan, the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, the Republic of Tajikistan (online format), Turkmenistan, the Republic of Uzbekistan, and the host country, the Republic of Türkiye. The ECO Secretariat delegation was headed by Mr. Seyed Mohsen Esperi, Deputy Secretary General (Trade, Investment, Agriculture and Industry).
In his opening remarks, Mr. Esperi underscored the critical importance of automation, standardization, and harmonization of customs procedures to boost cross-border efficiency, transparency, and trade facilitation. The ECO Secretariat highlighted recent developments; including, the finalization process of the ECO Agreement on Mutual Administrative Assistance in Customs Matters; progress on the ECO Smuggling and Customs Offences Data Bank; and the need to further develop electronic data interchange (EDI) mechanisms and regional paperless trade systems.
In her welcoming remarks, Mrs. Aylin Bebekoğlu, Deputy Director General at the Directorate General of International Agreements and the European Union, Ministry of Trade of the Republic of Türkiye, highlighted the signorine of cooperation in customs, modernization of customs procedures and updating the customs’ infrastructure and procedures with changing needs of time.
The most important outcome of the meeting was the successful finalization of the draft ECO Agreement on Mutual Administrative Assistance in Customs Matters, paving the way for its formal adoption at the upcoming 10th Meeting of the ECO Council of Heads of Customs Administration (CHCA), and its future signature by Member States.
The meeting reaffirmed the Member States’ shared commitment to strengthening customs cooperation, enhancing institutional capacity, and modernizing customs systems in line with the targets set in the ECO Vision 2025 and beyond.
