From left to right – Ambassador Matthew Wilson; Head of Trade at the International Chamber of Commerce, Valerie Picard; and Deputy General Secretary of the World Customs Organization, Ricardo Treviño, launch the study report on the Integration of MSME’s into Authorized Economic Operator Programmes in Brussels, Belgium. (GP)
Barbados recently collaborated with the World Customs Organization (WCO), the World Trade Organization (WTO) and the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), to launch a study report on the Integration of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) into Authorized Economic Operator Programmes in Brussels, Belgium.
In his role as Coordinator of the WTO informal Working Group on MSMEs, Permanent Representative of Barbados to the United Nations, World Trade Organization and other International Organizations in Geneva, Matthew Wilson, asserted:
“Every country’s approach to MSME integration is unique but Authorized Economic Operator (AEO) programmes can play an important role in improving security and streamlining the customs process for MSME’s.
“This report illustrates how these programmes are making it possible for MSME’s to establish and signal their trustworthiness in international trade… in other words, AEO status is becoming a powerful tool, not only for customs procedures but also for helping small businesses prove their credibility to global partners.”
Mr. Wilson also stressed that tools and initiatives that build trust, increase efficiency and promote transparency are needed in the “current challenging geopolitical and geo-economic realities confronting all of us”. “This is exactly what well-crafted Authorised Economic Operator programmes do,” he added.
The Study Report on the Integration of MSMEs into Authorized Economic Operator Programmes can be assessed from the WTO and WCO websites.
In his capacity as Coordinator of the African Caribbean and Pacific (OACPS) group in Geneva, Ambassador Wilson also met with the Secretary General of the OACPS, Moussa Saleh Batraki, at the OACP Headquarters.
Secretary General Batraki briefed the meeting’s participants on several initiatives, including programming priorities; the preparations for the March 2026 OACPS Summit and strengthening relations with the work of the Geneva OACPS Office.
The Ambassador highlighted Barbados’s continued support for the work of the OACPS and briefed those gathered on current negotiations at the World Trade Organization (WTO), including areas like: WTO reform, Agriculture, Services, E-Commerce, Fisheries, and Trade Facilitation and Development.
Mr. Wilson was accompanied by Second Secretary Davion Sealy from the Permanent Mission of Barbados in Belgium.
Author: Dionne Best
Source: https://gisbarbados.gov.bb/blog/barbados-joins-with-wto-wco-to-launch-report/
