Riyadh: Shaikh Ahmed bin Hamad Al Khalifa, President of Customs, led Bahrain's delegation to the 15th meeting of the Executive Committee of the GCC Customs Union, held in Riyadh with the participation of representatives from GCC member states.
According to Bahrain News Agency, Shaikh Ahmed bin Hamad emphasized that under the leadership of His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa and the follow-up of His Royal Highness Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, the Crown Prince and Prime Minister, Bahrain continues to support joint GCC action and efforts to strengthen economic integration. He stressed that facilitating trade and investment is crucial in advancing GCC economies and enhancing their regional and international competitiveness.
The meeting reviewed the progress on completing the requirements of the GCC Customs Union and discussed updates to unified customs procedures. Participants also examined the work of technical committees, including the revision of the Unified Customs Law and its executive regulations, the future workflow for imports and the movement of goods, updates to the GCC authorised economic operator programme, and enhancements to the customs risk-information exchange platform.
Reports on customs duty settlement, capacity-building programmes, ports compliance assessment, and the GCC customs data exchange platform were also presented, alongside updates on the implementation of the GCC transit mechanism.