GOYGOL, Azerbaijan, September 28. Azerbaijan, Türkiye, and Georgia discussed customs issues at the fifth meeting of the Trilateral Committee on Customs Issues, held in the Goygol district on September 28, Trend's Karabakh bureau reports.
The event participants first visited the monument to National Leader Heydar Aliyev in Goygol and laid flowers at the monument.
The meeting was attended by delegations led by the Chairman of the State Customs Committee of Azerbaijan, Colonel-General of the Customs Service Shahin Baghirov, Deputy Minister of Trade of Türkiye Sezai Uçarmak, and Head of the Revenue Service of Georgia, Deputy Minister of Finance Mamuka Baratashvili.
The current state and future prospects of cooperation among the customs services of the three countries were discussed at the meeting. The implementation status of agreements reached during previous meetings was reviewed, and measures to be taken in the next stage were outlined. During the discussions, special attention was paid to optimizing customs procedures along the Middle Corridor, accelerating transit operations, and expanding information exchange among customs services.
Views were also exchanged regarding the facilitation of transit operations, the acceleration of border-crossing processes, and the strengthening of practical cooperation among customs services within the framework of the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway project.
The parties also discussed the harmonization of transit customs procedures, the improvement of the exchange of advance electronic information, risk management, and the expansion of cooperation in combating customs violations.
At the conclusion of the meeting, a protocol reflecting the agreements reached was signed.
The 6th meeting of the Joint Committee on Customs Matters between the State Customs Committee of Azerbaijan and the Ministry of Trade of Türkiye was also held as part of the event.
Discussions at the meeting focused on the implementation of the New Computerized Transit System (NCTS), the simplification of customs procedures, the development of TIR and e-TIR mechanisms, and the acceleration of cargo vehicle transit and increased throughput capacity at border crossing points.
Furthermore, the parties reviewed opportunities to expand cooperation and conduct joint operations and training in areas such as combating customs violations, information exchange, Authorized Economic Operator (AEO) status, customs statistics, and risk management.
At the end of the meeting, a protocol reflecting the issues discussed and the agreements reached was signed.
