Delegation of Senegalese customs service on a visit to Azerbaijan

A meeting with the delegation of the Main Customs Administration of the Republic of Senegal was held at the State Customs Committee. 

The visit aimed at studying the advanced practices gained by Azerbaijan’s customs bodies, strengthening cooperation in the area of capacity building. 

First deputy chairman of the State Customs Committee, customs service Lieutenant-General Ismayil Huseynov expressed satisfaction with the relations between the customs bodies of the two countries. It was said that important opportunities emerged for enhancing cooperation after the agreement on mutual assistance in the area of capacity building of customs officers was signed in 2016.

Ismayil Huseynov spoke about the reforms carried out in Azerbaijan’s customs system over the recent years under the leadership of President Ilham Aliyev, noted that numerous achievements had been gained thanks to the innovations. It was underlined that customs bodies were implementing numerous projects in terms of increasing the country’s export potential, facilitating international trade, improving transit, facilitating border-crossing procedures. 

 Noting that the application of information technologies in Azerbaijan’s customs system had been expanded, all customs operations were carried out in an electronic format, Ismayil Huseynov said that the goal was to form digital customs within a short period time. He also spoke about the “Green Corridor”, “Smart Customs”, “One-stop shop”, “e-queue” and other projects implemented over the recent years, and the achievements gained in combating smuggling, in particular, the seizure of drugs.

Ismayil Huseynov underlined that special importance was attached to strengthening international cooperation, as a result of the purposeful activity, Azerbaijan’s customs service chaired WCO Europe Region for two years, in 2021 was elected as a member of the organization’s Policy Commission.

It was also underlined that sharing advanced practices was an important factor in terms of developing the customs system and Azerbaijan’s customs service supported all the challenges in this regard.

Director for customs operations of the Main Customs Administration of the Republic of Senegal Mbaye Ndiaye praised the cooperation between the customs bodies of the two countries and expressed hope that the mutual relations would be further strengthened. 

Speaking about the Administration’s activity, importance of their visit to our country, Mbaye Ndiaye said they were interested in studying and applying advanced practices gained by Azerbaijan’s customs service. 

 A presentation was made on the activity of Azerbaijan’s customs service, innovations applied, the guests’ questions were answered.

As part of the visit, the Senegalese customs officers will familiarize themselves with the innovations applied in the area and specialized customs bodies and projects.

Press and Public Affairs Department of the State Customs Committee