In June, Guayaquil will be the customs center of the region when it will host the First Congress of Good Customs Practices

Representatives of customs from Colombia, Peru, Panama, and other countries in the region will arrive at the event.

Guayaquil will host theFirst Regional Congress of Good Customs Practices,that will developfrom June 8 to 10at the Simón Bolívar Convention Center, with the participation of customs representatives from Colombia, Peru, Panama and other countries in the region.

The event is organized by theNational Customs Service of Ecuador (Senae), together with its strategic ally,the Export and Investment Promotion Corporation (Corpei), with the support of the private sector through the Association of Private Ports, Guayaquil Port Terminal, Manta Port Terminal, BASC Ecuador chapter, Naportec, Neymer, General Motors, among others.

Meanwhile, among the speakers confirmed for the event are Ricardo Treviño, deputy secretary of the World Customs Organization (WCO); Werner Ovalle, regional vice president of the Americas and the Caribbean of OMA; and Jorge Pedraza, secretary general of the Andean Community (CAN).

The Congress, which was presented this Wednesday in Guayaquil, will take place within the framework of the Pro Tempore Presidency that Ecuador exercises this year in the Andean Community; in which the Senae also chairs the Customs Affairs Committee.

During the presentation, Carola Ríos, general director of Senae, maintained that the event will have two components: Congress and Networking Roundtable.

Ríos explained that the first component is the main axis of the event, in which national and international speakers will present and address, in person and virtually, topics such as technology and automation of customs processes for the benefit of the user, importance of trade traceability abroad, control in parcel mechanisms, Authorized Economic Operator programs, recommendations for the mitigation of illicit trade, smart ports, among others.

Meanwhile, in the Networking Round, which will be held in virtual mode through a meeting platform, the aim will be to generate strategic alliances, expand the network of contacts and develop potential businesses at the regional level.

Eduardo Egas, executive president of Corpei, highlighted the contribution that the Corporation will give to the event, due to the expertise that the entity, a private non-profit agency, has in similar events, in addition to the representativeness it provides by having four representatives of the public sector on its board: Minister of Foreign Affairs, the Minister of Agriculture and Livestock, the Minister of Production, Foreign Trade, Investments and Fisheries and the manager of the National Financial Corporation (CFN) and from the private side to 31 representatives of the country's productive sectors, including the mining and tourism that recently joined. “We know the great importance that the world's customs have in the competitiveness and development of nations, not only in the collection of fees, but also in the balance between the pillars of control and facilitation to the trade,” said Egas.

Finally, Ríos pointed out that this event will be institutionalized as an exchange of experiences and a generator of synergies that will contribute to the balance between trade facilitation and customs control, key elements for the competitiveness of the countries.