Jordan's Customs, Russian counterpart seal agreement

Jordan Customs and the Russian Federal Customs on Wednesday inked a bilateral agreement on cooperation and mutual assistance in customs issues between the two countries.
The agreement aimed at developing aspects of cooperation and work jointly to combat smuggling and irregularities that harm the economic, social and cultural interests in both countries.
It also aimed to ensure the importance of proper assessment and collection of customs duties and other taxes that are updated on imports and exports, as well as to upgrade customs work through mutual coordination between the departments of the two countries.
The accord will also facilitate goods traffic, exchange of information and consultations in various work-related areas as well as to apply best international practices within the framework of World Customs Organization, thus contributing to developing the economies of both countries.
Jordan Customs' Director General, Munther Al Assaf said that the agreement ensured cooperation between the two sides in several vital areas in the work of customs, notably exchange of information and institutional capacity-building.
He stressed that both parties need to take advantage of each other’s experiences and that Jordan's customs department was eager to continue cooperation with its Russian counterpart for the benefit of the two countries.
Head of the Customs Service of the Russian Federation, Andrei Belyaninov, said that the pact emphasized the need for international cooperation in issues relating to the application and implementation of customs regulations.
It also referred to enhancing methods of preventing customs offenses and to ensure full payment of custom duties levied on imports and exports of goods.