The activities of the First Arab Conference of Customs Clearance Agents kicked off in the Egyptian capital, Cairo. This conference is the first of its kind in the Arab world, attended by His Excellency Ambassador Dr. Mohamed Mohamed El Rabie, Secretary-General of the Arab Economic Unity Council; Dr. Mamdouh Al-Rifai, President of the Arab Union of Customs Clearance Agents; Major General Dr. Basheer Al-Taher, President of the Sudanese Customs Authority; Mr. Badri Daher, Director-General of Lebanese Customs; Mr. Hilal Tawfiq, First Undersecretary of the Ministry of Finance and Deputy Head of the Egyptian Customs Authority; Colonel Hani Al-Attar, representing Jordanian Customs; Dr. Ibrahim Al-Aqeeli from Saudi Customs; Mr. Ibrahim Dashti from Kuwaiti Customs; Mr. Saeed Abdullah, Assistant Minister of Trade and Industry in Egypt; Ms. Alia Abbas from the Lebanese Ministry of Trade and Industry; Mr. Jaber Mokhtar, Head of the Alexandria Customs Brokers Division; heads of customs brokers unions across the Arab world; and many distinguished Arab economic figures.
His Excellency Ambassador Dr. Mohamed Mohamed El Rabie spoke about the Union’s role as a key partner with Arab customs in combating the parallel economy. He added that the Union has made significant progress toward its goals in a very short time—a great achievement credited to the Union’s wise and serious leadership and board of directors.
Dr. Mamdouh stated that the Union is steadily advancing towards achieving its goals through signing agreements with specialized Arab unions, government bodies, and Arab customs brokers’ syndicates. He added that the Union has developed a clear and comprehensive plan to elevate the customs clearance profession in the Arab world by establishing a specialized academy for customs sciences to graduate skilled customs brokers who contribute to building the Arab economy.
The conference witnessed a major surprise with the signing of cooperation protocols with Egyptian Customs, Lebanese Customs, and Sudanese Customs. The directors of the Arab customs authorities welcomed the signing of these agreements and affirmed their continuous cooperation and support for the Union in achieving its goals that serve the greater Arab nation.
