KUWAIT CITY: A US-Kuwait Customs Mutual Assistance Agreement (CMAA) was signed during a ceremony Thursday, along with a renewed Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on Technical Cooperation between the two countries.
Jamal Al Jalawi, director general of Kuwait General Administration of Customs, said the agreement was “very important” to Kuwait, and would provide for better US-Kuwait cooperation to improve efforts to deal with money laundering, coordinating investigations of security crime including protecting intellectual property rights and other areas of mutual concern.
Kevin McAleenan, acting commissioner of US Customs and Border Protection, said US officials were “enthusiastic about the potential” the agreement provides to “deepen” US-Kuwait customs cooperation.
“Customs and Mutual Assistance Agreements allow for the exchange of information that is vital to our national and economic security,” McAleenan said. “We value our partnership with Kuwait in pursuing our mutual goals of stronger law enforcement and a more resilient and secure supply chain.” “These agreements form sound legal frameworks on a wide range of issues, including securing our borders against terrorists and combating drug traffickers,” he said. “This collaboration and cooperation will enable us — and generations after us– to work more effectively to prevent, detect and investigate customs offenses.” Al Jalawi said Kuwait “looks forward to cooperation” on the issue, adding, “We hope that we will gain from the CMAA as we did with the MOU.” He noted that MOU cooperation on these issues started between the two countries in 1993.
