India hosts World Customs Organization RCP meeting of Asia Pacific

India hosted the World Customs Organization (WCO) Asia Pacific Regional Contact Points (RCP) that was held for 3 three days on Puducherry. The conference is being held for the fourth time in India. Previously it was held in Jaipur and Cochin.

Highlights

• International Organizations like UNCTAD, Global Alliance on Trade Facilitation (GATF) participated in the conference. They presented the best practices that are involved in customs procedures.
• The conference also discussed about the key focus areas of the Asia Pacific Region. It includes security, enforcement, facilitation and capacity building.

World Customs Organization

• The World Customs Organization is an inter-governmental Organization that is involved in setting up principles and standards especially for cross border procedures and customs.
• The headquarters of WCO is located in Brussels.
• The Organization has divided the world into 6 regions to make the rules across borders of these regions easier.
• India is a member of the organization.

Significance

• The Asia Pacific accounts to 37% of the world’s GDP.
• Also, the region is important for India as it is trying to increase its trade and investment in the region. India is achieving this through its Act East Policy.
• The development of North East Region is also linked with India’s interests in Asia Pacific. India is finding markets in the region for the export of goods from North East.
• It is also essential for India to increase its presence in the region as China has larger interests in the region especially in the markets of the region.

Month: Current Affairs - November, 2019