The World Customs Organisation (WCO) and World Logistics Passport (WLP) agree to continue collaborating towards the acceleration of AEO - Authorized Economic Operator Adoption

The World Customs Organisation (WCO) and World Logistics Passport (WLP) have agreed to continue their cooperation to accelerate the adoption of AEO - Authorised Economic Operator, a voluntary Compliance and Security programme based on World Customs Organisation (WCO) SAFE framework. This was announced in Davos following a meeting between WCO and WLP on the sidelines of the Annual Summit of the World Economic Forum (WEF).

The last few years have been a tumultuous time for global trade, said a WLP spokesman. “The Covid-19 pandemic tested the capabilities of existing trade infrastructure as the world grappled with an unprecedented health and economic crisis. As most of the world recovers from the initial shock, global trade difficulties persist, with severe supply chain issues creating a myriad of problems. Global supply chain disruptions are slowing down economic output in key important-dependent industrial sectors of the economy, negatively affecting the post-pandemic economic recovery”, added the spokesman. 

The World Logistics Passport (WLP) is a global, private sector-led, initiative designed to facilitate global trade. Faced with severely disrupted international trade, the WLP helps its members maintain resilient trade flows and nurtures new global trade relations.

During the meeting in Davos, where the WLP was officially launched by Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, President of the Dubai Civil Aviation Authority, Chairman and CEO of the Emirates Group and Chair of the World Logistics Passport Global Steering Group, the two parties have agreed to continue their cooperation to work towards the acceleration of AEO adoption.  The WCO has expressed its support of initiatives like this, that aim to secure and facilitate global supply chains, and it appreciates the efforts of the WLP.

The WCO will be hosted by WLP at the upcoming 2022 WLP Global Summit, which will convene global leaders from business, government, and international organisations to share perspectives on the key trends shaping the freight and logistics industry, as well as take stock of the WLP's achievements to date.