26.01.2017 Ankara
The celebration program organized for the World Customs Day was held at TOBB Twin Towers with the participation of Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım and Customs and Trade Minister Bülent Tüfenkci, hosted by TOBB President M. Rifat Hisarcıklıoğlu.
Speaking at the
meeting, Prime Minister Yıldırım thanked the TOBB for hosting and stated that
the World Customs Day theme was determined last year as “Digital Customs” and
that many activities in Turkey have been successfully completed.
Prime Minister Binali
Yıldırım stated that the World Customs Organization's “Data Analysis for
Effective Border Management” was adopted by the World Customs Organization for
this year's ceremony and stated that they would emphasize the contribution of
the private sector organizations contributing to customs administrations and
customs procedures to the customs activities of the data analysis.
Prime Minister
Yildirim stated that the Ministry of Customs and Trade has pioneered the “e-TIR”
project, which is the technical infrastructure for the trucking system and that
the project is a safe exchange of data and goods between national customs
systems and other stakeholders.
Bülent Tüfenkci,
Minister of Customs and Trade, remarked that important steps were taken in the
field of economy as a government and said, “Everything in the economy is under
control. We are taking measures that affect our economy and ease every business
related issue.” Tüfenkci talked in regards to the various endeavors taking
place at customs.
- TOBB Board Member İbrahim Burkay
Speaking at the panel
chaired by TEPAV Director Güven Sak prior to the meeting, TOBB Board Member İbrahim
Burkay provided information on various activities. “TOBB, the umbrella organization
of the Turkish private sector, has 365 chambers and commodity exchanges spread
over 81 provinces, in 160 provinces and more than 1.5 million members, keeping
the pulse of the economy under close watch. Our Union is a guarantor for the
TIR System. In 2016, we provided bail of 15 billion Euros for our exporters. In
this way, our country achieved a savings of 1 billion USD in foreign trade
logistics activities.”
Burkay stressed that
another important activity in terms of foreign trade facilitation is the modernization
of land customs gates. “The Customs and Tourism Enterprises Co. Inc. (GTI)
established in 2005 by TOBB and 137 Chambers and Commodity Exchanges, is
modernizing border gates with the ‘build-operate-transfer’ model.”