IAPH has had a memorandum of understanding with the World Customs Organization (WCO) since 1987. In recent years, the cooperation with WCO however slowed down to become virtually non-existent. Thanks to the chairman of the IAPH Data Collaboration Committee, Pascal Ollivier, this has now changed. To mark the renewed partnership WCO Secretary General Kunio Mikuriya is scheduled to deliver a keynote address at the World Ports Conference on the subject of free zones.
"Following an initial meeting with the Secretary General earlier this year, we have been invited to join several WCO work streams, most recently on the reporting of passenger data, notably advance passenger information (API) and passenger name records (PNR), initially for cruise vessels and later also for ferries. We are also exploring capacity building prospects with WCO on collaboration between port and customs authorities. Members of the IAPH Data Collaboration Committee will be kept informed about further developments on both topics", IAPH says in a press release.