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under the theme of “Improving Authorized Economic Operators Programs in the OIC Member
States.”
According to the research report prepared for the meeting, 12 OIC Member Countries have AEO
Programs, whereas 9 Member Countries have customs compliance programs (CCP). Moreover,
3 member countries, namely Bahrain, Bangladesh and Cote d’Ivoire are developing new AEO
programs. The research report highlighted some challenges of the Member Countries for
improving AEO programs as well as establishing a new program, among others:
 Lengthy AEO approval times
 Difficulties in communication of Customs Authority with private sector and other
government agencies
 Need for human resources for managing AEO Programs
 Lack of sustainable and regular training programs
 Low participation of SMEs to the AEO programs
 Limited number of Mutual Recognition Agreements
The 12th Meeting of Trade Working Group has come up with the following policy
recommendations:
 Encouraging the design of an attractive package where benefits provided by the AEO
program to the private sector outnumber costs borne by firms and traders in order to
attract companies to participate in the program,
 Promoting an integrated approach in the legislative, organizational and operational
dimensions with other government agencies during the design phase of AEOs in order to
eliminate duplications and redundancy as well as burdensome procedures,
 Encouraging the adoption of and increasing the number of mutual recognition agreements
(MRAs) as they enable AEO holders to enjoy trade facilitation benefits provided by the
partner countries,
 Enhancing the communication with the private sector with AEOs through utilizing client
relations management,
 Supporting the participation of SMEs in the supply chain in order to benefit from the AEO
programs to their full extent.
Moreover, accessing the information regarding the customs regulations, formalities, procedures
and other relevant issues timely and properly is vital for traders. Lack of well-timed and accurate
information brings about higher costs on commercial operations. Public availability of
information on trade-related laws, regulations and procedures enables traders to take their
decisions accordingly and operate in a more predictable and transparent trading environment.
Therefore, in the first four articles of the WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement, publication and
availability of information, consultations with the relevant stakeholders, advance ruling
systems, and appeal procedures are highlighted as the important necessities of trade facilitation.
In this respect, the TWG has convened on March 7th, 2019, in Ankara, Turkey with the theme of
“Facilitating Trade: Enhancing Public Availability of Customs Information in the OIC Countries.”
During the Meeting, the participants deliberated on the global practices and trends in customs
information dissemination and the status of the OICMember Countries regarding the publicizing