The World Customs Organisation (WCO) Secretary-General Kunio Mikuriya is set for a two-day visit to Kenya early next week, reports said on Saturday.
The visit comes hot on the heels of the recently-concluded Middle East and North Africa (MENA) regional workshop on cross-border E-Commerce held in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Mikuriya will be in the country to assess ongoing Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) Customs programs supported by the global customs body.
Mikuriya has been serving as the Secretary-General of the WCO since 1st January 2009.
He provides leadership and executive management for the global Customs community’s priorities, including developing global Customs instruments, standards, and tools; securing and facilitating global trade, realizing revenues, building Customs-business partnerships, and delivering capacity building in support of Customs reform and modernization.
Speaking when he confirmed Mikuriya’s visit, Commissioner for Customs and Border Control, Kevin Safari said the visit by the WCO delegation underscores Kenya’s growing position as a leading Customs management centre of excellence in the continent.
At KRA, the Customs and Border Control Department Safari said, has been playing a pivotal role in fostering economic competitiveness, revenue collection and protection of society from illicit trade.
As part of KRA’s transformation agenda, Safari disclosed that the Authority had made tremendous progress on the ongoing efforts to integrate international and regional Customs systems.
Among other projects, KRA has implemented an advanced Integrated scanner strategy focusing on non-intrusive inspection, seven One-Stop Border Points (OSBPs) and activated the web-based Regional Electronic Cargo Tracking System (RECTS), state-of-the-art technology for viewing the movement along the Northern corridor of sealed cargo and is used to monitor transit cargo in Kenya, Rwanda and Uganda.
“At KRA, we shall be honoured to be hosting the WCO Secretary-General early next week; to showcase our customs management advances,” Safari said in a statement issued on Saturday.
“As part of the KRA corporate commitment to be a globally trusted revenue agency facilitating Tax and Customs compliance, we have been working closely with the WCO on various international best practice programmes,” he added.
JK/abj/APA