The D-8 Organization held its 2nd Customs Officials Meeting of the D-8 Preferential Trade Agreement (D-8 PTA) on 23rd March, 2021. The meeting was hosted virtually by the Ministry of Trade of the Republic of Turkey. Senior Officials of the Ministries of Trade and Customs Departments of the D-8 Member States participated in the meeting.

Ms. Sevil Karaca Aydemir; the Head of the Department of Harmonization of EU Customs Legislation and Financial Co-operation at the Ministry of Trade of the Republic of Turkey, chaired the meeting. In her welcome remarks, Ms. Aydemir highlighted the necessity of the full implementation and operationalization of the D-8 PTA in order to reach the target of the D-8 intra-trade set by the leaders. She briefed the meeting about the full implementation status of Turkey and reaffirmed Turkey’s strong commitment to the D-8 PTA.

The D-8 Secretary-General Ambassador Dato’ Ku Jaafar Ku Shaari highlighted the utmost importance of operationalizing this vital agreement for promoting trade and reaping its enormous benefits. He called upon all the Member States to complete all pending procedures and necessary notifications for full implementation at the soonest.

The meeting discussed and reviewed the current status of the Member States regarding the full implementation of the agreement which basically encompasses notification of the Certificates of Origin, Specimen of Certificate and procedures concerning Application for a D-8 Certificate of Origin. Delegates of each member state reflected their respective status and expressed their strong commitment to finish all the necessary internal procedures at the earliest. The meeting also deliberated on the possibilities of arranging various training and capacity-building measures in association with the World Customs Organization. The meeting ended with closing remarks delivered by the Director-II of the Secretariat and the Chair of the meeting.