WCO Secretary General awarded the Presidential Medal of Uzbekistan

On 25 November 2022, during his visit to Tashkent, Uzbekistan, Dr. Kunio Mikuriya, Secretary General of the World Customs Organization (WCO) was awarded the Presidential Medal of Uzbekistan for his contribution to Customs reform and modernization in the country.

Dr. Mikuriya was handed the Presidential Medal by Mr. Viktor Makhmudov, Secretary of the Security Council, on behalf of the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan in recognition of his service to the country. Secretary General Mikuriya stated "It is a great honour for me to receive the medal representing the WCO's continuous effort to support the modernization efforts of Uzbekistan". He added, "the journey for Customs modernization will continue and we will further assist the Uzbek Customs to become a showcase for Customs reform."

Earlier on the same day, Secretary General Mikuriya attended a ceremony dedicated to the recognition of the Bachelor of Customs Affairs programme of the Uzbekistan Customs Institute's as being compliant with the WCO PICARD international standards. Dr. Mikuriya said "Customs need Human Resources equipped with adequate knowledge on a range of areas in revenue, trade supply chains and border security to meet the challenges of the quickly changing trade landscape.". The recognition was supported by the EU's Border Management Programme in Central Asia (BOMCA).

During the ceremony, the Customs Institute of the State Customs Committee of Uzbekistan awarded Dr. Mikuriya the title of Honorary Professor. Secretary General Mikuriya said "it is an honour to be given this title to symbolize the WCO's endeavour for professional education and research to transform Customs into knowledge-based and data-driven organizations"