Minister of Finance Mohamed Maait said that the Egyptian government is keen on maintaining communication with international partners and strengthening its partnerships with customs administrations in various countries to exchange experiences. These partnerships aim to boost the performance of Egyptian customs. The government has updated customs legislation in consultation with the business community and investors. Through that, it aims to simplify, mechanize, and facilitate customs procedures, thus facilitating the movement of internal and external trade, stimulating the investment climate, maximizing production capabilities, and expanding the export base.
On the occasion of the celebration of World Customs Day in Alexandria, Maait said, “We are striving to turn the slogan of the World Customs Organization for this year into a reality, to improve the quality of services, especially as the world faces a severe decline in international trade as a result of successive global economic crises.”
El-Shahat Ghatouri, Head of the Customs Authority, said, “We organized this celebration to raise awareness among employees and partners about World Customs Day and the organization’s slogan, which focuses on one of the most important topics that the organization wants to highlight, to facilitate the movement of international trade and eliminate non-useful practices.”
He added, “Throughout the past few months, we have achieved many local and international partnerships to overcome the challenges we faced in the draft laws and procedures regulating customs work, in addition to consultations with Italian customs, within the framework of the institutional twinning project. It aims to gradually harmonize customs legislation, rules, and practices with the standards of the European Union.”
Ghatouri explained that information technology was employed in developing the work environment of the customs system and establishing advanced logistical centers. With that, it will allow custom services to be available through one window, while developing customs transactions and integrating, facilitating, and governing their procedures through the use of developed customs applications.
Ian Sanders, Secretary-General of the World Customs Organization, said, “We look forward to building new partnerships with stakeholders from the global customs community, including financial institutions, environmental organizations, non-governmental organizations, and academic institutions. We hope to broaden our horizons, think creatively, and adopt innovative approaches that contribute to enhancing our efforts with new perspectives and effective solutions that are consistent with our new slogan.”
Amal Al-Gabry, Director General of the General Administration of Customs Development and Reform Initiatives, reviewed the electronic system that was developed to follow up on the implementation of the programs and activities of the new strategic plan 2023/2026. She explained that the new system enhances strategy management, through effective and balanced performance, while enhancing governance and supporting decision-making and extrapolating indicators of achievement through real-time follow-up of the executive stages.
