The following is excerpted from a 23 October 2012 report by the World Customs Organization.
At the invitation of the Head of the Russian Federal Customs Service, Andrey Beliyaninov, the Secretary General of the WCO, Kunio Mikuriya, spoke at the XIII International Exhibition and Conference on Customs in Moscow, Russia on 23 October 2012.
At the launch of the International Exhibition entitled “Customs Service – 2012”, Mr. Beliyaninov welcomed delegates from some 20 Customs administrations. The Russian Deputy Prime Minister, Igor Shuvalov, recalled the expanding role of Customs from traditional revenue collection to facilitating economic competitiveness and fighting against illicit trade. He therefore stressed the importance of modernizing Customs procedures by using technology and sharing best practices, one of the priorities for Russia’s government.
This report is available in its entirety at:
http://www.wcoomd.org/reports/?v=1&lid=1&cid=2&id=414