ISLAMABAD: Directors General of Customs attending the annual sessions of the Council of the World Customs Organization (WCO) re-elected the incumbent Secretary General, Kunio Mikuriya, for a further five-year term with effect from 1 January 2019.
In response to his re-election, Dr. Mikuriya said, “I am deeply honoured by the trust that Directors General of Customs from around the world have placed in my ability to lead the Secretariat. I will continue working in close cooperation with all of them to achieve the Organization’s goals and realize our vision of modernization and connectivity.”
Before taking up his position as Secretary General of the WCO in 2009, Dr. Mikuriya spent seven years as the WCO’s Deputy Secretary General, leading efforts to coordinate the Secretariat’s work in partnership with other international organizations, such as the World Trade Organization (WTO), the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF), as well as with the private sector.
Prior to joining the WCO, Dr. Mikuriya spent 25 years in Japan’s Ministry of Finance, occupying a variety of senior posts which gave him broad experience in Customs-related issues, trade development, budgetary matters and financial policies, including expertise in the WTO’s international trade negotiations.
Dr. Mikuriya has a Bachelor of Arts in Law from the University of Tokyo (Japan) and a PhD in International Relations from the University of Kent (United Kingdom).
