The conference brings together customs heads of 52 countries from Europe and Asia, WCO Secretary-General Kunio Mikuriya, European Commission representatives, as well as Macedonian Government officials.

Vice Premier and Finance Minister Zoran Stavreski said in the conference address that Macedonia followed WCO recommendations and objectives in the context of coping with the global economic crisis, including stimulation and facilitation of commercial exchange, inter-customs cooperation, collaboration with the business community, strengthened border management and modernization of customs systems.

"The Government has continually supported the Customs Administration operations. Reforms in the past three years have enabled an increase of the capacity at border crossings, simplification of customs procedures for companies and reduction of their costs. Moreover, modern equipment has been procured, along with measures for simplification and acceleration of the customs procedure, thus improving the business climate and mitigating effects of the global economic crisis on Macedonia's economy", stressed FinMin Stavreski.

He stated that reforms in the customs sector would continue, whereas achieved results have been acknowledged by the World Bank.

"Doing Business has ranked Macedonia as the third-best reformer in the world, with a special emphasis on progress made by the Customs Administration. Being an EU candidate-country, the European Commission's assessment on the successful harmonization with the Union's customs laws is very important. This is an incentive for Macedonia's Customs Administration, but also for counterpart institutions in the region and beyond to resume with reforms", added Stavreski.

WCO chief Mikuriya emphasized that Macedonia was chosen to host the conference because it achieved enormous progress in the modernization of customs, adding that the main office of the WCO Regional Training Center was located in Skopje.

The conference agenda includes discussions on latest topics of importance for the development of customs in the 21st century and WCO's activities related to the challenges, which the Customs Services of the European Region are faced with.

The WCO, established in 1952 as the Customs Co-operation Council (CCC), is an independent inter-governmental body with the mission to enhance the effectiveness and efficiency of customs administrations.

The WCO represents 172 customs administrations across the globe that collectively cover approximately 98 percent of world trade. As the global centre of customs expertise, the WCO is the only international organization with competence in customs matters.