Our Chairman of the Board of Directors Mehmet Altay YEGIN's article titled “6th Global AEO Conference in China” was published in “Nasıl Bir Ekonomi” newspaper

We attended the "Sixth World Customs Organization (WCO) Global AEO Conference" in Shenzhen, the People's Republic of China, on 8-10 May 2024. The conference theme we attended with our Secretary General Aysun Yılmaz and Board Member Elçin Can İnan was "Harnessing the Power of AEO Programs for Inclusive and Sustainable Global Trade".
This three-day global event brought together key stakeholders worldwide to explore the transformative potential of Authorized Economic Operator (AEO) programs.
The conference was marked by comprehensive sessions that fostered engaging discussions on a wide range of topics, including empowering women in global trade, leveraging technology for risk management and trade facilitation, and much more.
The exhibition, which ran in parallel with the conference, also provided ample opportunities for networking and learning more about AEO programs worldwide. The conference also provided unique opportunities to discuss the future of AEO programs and the unique opportunities to shape their impact on global trade.
To give you an idea, here are the titles of the eight "Plenary" sessions:
• 1st Plenary Session: AEO Program as a Key Factor for Economic Growth and Security
• 2nd Plenary Session: Empowering Women through AEO Programs, Addressing Gender-Related Barriers to Global Trade
• 3rd Plenary Session: Authorized Economic Operator Programs in Smart Customs: Leveraging Data Analytics and Emerging Technologies for Better Risk Management and Trade Facilitation, a session that will equip you with practical tools and strategies for your work.
• 4th Plenary Session: Global Recognition and Harmonization of Authorized Economic Operator Programs: Challenges and Opportunities for Customs and Business,
• 5th Plenary Session: Assessing the Impact of the Authorized Economic Operator Program Measuring the Benefits
• 6th Plenary Session: The Future of the AEO Program: Trends, Challenges and Opportunities for Customs, Business, and Society in the Next Decade, a thought-provoking session that will explore the future of AEO and its implications for all stakeholders
• 7th Plenary Session: AEO and Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs): Addressing Challenges and Encouraging AEO Participation
• 8th Plenary Session: Coordinating Delegated Administrator Programs with Other Agencies: Strategies for Improving Harmonization and Implementation
The theme's motto of harnessing the power of AEO programs for inclusive and sustainable global trade has become complete and valid. Mutual recognition and increasing the number of agreements to be signed for this purpose are essential in acknowledging the existence of AEOs on international platforms and ensuring their validity at the global level. Considering the OECD's determination that approximately 15% of the costs in world trade are caused by customs procedures, mutual recognition agreements gain additional importance.
The most important topics that we recorded in our agenda after the conference are the necessity of adding new stakeholders to the YYS system, the importance of implementing reforms promptly, the necessity of redesigning the AEO with different programs, the necessity of reviewing the application documents, the importance of mutual recognition agreement, the necessity of increasing the initiatives to accelerate the interaction with customs administrations and the necessity of encouraging customs administrations to increase simplification practices.
We will continue our research and comparisons abroad as the Authorized Economic Operator Association. Our new route is to visit the World Customs Organization in Brussels and the Spain-based International AEO Association, of which we are a member. As stated in our charter, we aim to accelerate our research with our visits abroad and to provide suggestions for developing the YYS system. In this context, we will continue our overseas visits and studies steadily.