ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has said that International Customs Day is an opportunity to reaffirm our commitment that Pakistan Customs will follow the best international practices of trade facilitation, transparent transactions and a more conducive business environment without jeopardizing its primary function of border controls.
The prime minister said that Pakistan was celebrating the International Customs Day on January 26, 2017 to acknowledge the valuable contributions of customs officials and agencies for enhancing border security and integrity of the movement of goods in order to preserve economic interest of their respective countries.
He said the day also provides us with the perfect opportunity to review Pakistan Customs’ efforts towards the enforcement of national and international laws relating to cross-border trade, control of illicit trafficking and collection of national revenues.
He said this year’s theme, ‘Data Analysis’ with the slogan ‘Data Analysis for Effective Border Management’ is very pertinent in the modern digital world.
I am confident that with the launch of WeBOC and other automation projects, a substantial amount of data is now available to the customs authorities for making more informed decisions.
In an integrated world, efficient border management is one of our greatest challenges. This challenge can be met only through comprehensive data analysis and information sharing for more effective and rational employment of resources.
Prime Minister also felicitate Pakistan Customs and the Federal Board of Revenue on the efforts made so far for enhancing automation and development of a reliable database.
It is now important that these efforts for efficient data collection and analysis are capitalized upon, leading to more targeted control over movement of goods across borders and facilitation of legitimate trade. This will contribute in expanding Pakistan’s share in international trade.
