On 26 January 2021, at the WCO's headquarters, the 2021 Anniversary of the International Customs Day was celebrated. The International Customs Day is a yearly occasion where the international customs community gathers together at the WCO headquarters, in Brussels, Belgium, to discuss a particular topic , summarized with a slogan, that will be successively developed and deepeened within a series of events to be organised during the year.
This year, however, due to the disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the International Customs Day (ICD) was celebrated virtually. The WCO’s International Customs Day selected slogan for 2021 is “Customs bolstering Recovery, Renewal and Resilience for a sustainable supply chain”, which aims at developing food for thought on the role of Customs in the recovery from the Covid-19 crisis, in particular, by exploring how digital transformation and other advanced technologies can be leveraged to strengthen the global supply chain. Also for 2021 the WCO urges its members to put automation, innovative technologies (e.g. paperless clearance methods), and collaborative approaches with all stakeholders along the supply chain at the centre of their activities.
During the 2021 Anniversary of the International Customs Day, the WCO Secretary General delivered a message that is available here. A video recorded during the WCO Secretary General participatation to the Belgium Customs Administration’s ICD celebrations is also available at this address.
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