On February 26, 2024, a round table was held at the Central Office of the State Customs Service of Turkmenistan on the practical implementation of the “Guidelines for the mutual recognition of Authorized Economic Operators (AEOs)” of the World Customs Organization in the region of Central Asia and the South Caucasus.

The event took place as part of the visit of the Executive Secretary of the International Center for Transport Diplomacy at the UN, Igor Runov, to Turkmenistan. The round table via videoconference was attended by experts from the World Customs Organization, representatives of the UN Group of Friends on Sustainable Transport, the secretariat of the Intergovernmental Commission for the International Transport Corridor Europe-Caucasus-Asia (TRACECA), as well as representatives of the customs authorities of the countries of Central Asia, the Republic of Azerbaijan and Georgia. . On the Turkmen side, the meeting participants were representatives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Turkmenistan, the State Customs Service of Turkmenistan, as well as the Agency of Transport and Communications under the Cabinet of Ministers of Turkmenistan.

The purpose of the round table was to discuss the main provisions of the World Customs Organization Framework of Standards for Securing and Facilitating Global Trade in terms of their implementation at the regional level and taking into account existing best practices in other regions of the world.

During the Round Table, a general assessment of the activities of existing Regional Agreements on Mutual Recognition of AEOs was given, and examples of the activities of Regional Agreements in various regions of the world, such as South Africa, the Middle East, and the European Economic Community were presented. A participant from Moldova Customs shared her experience in implementing the AEO institution.

The participants also discussed the Concept of creating a Regional Agreement on Mutual Recognition in Eurasia.