Seminar for customs official on the implementation of legislation on arms imports and exports

The Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Relations (MOFTER) of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) and SEESAC jointly organized on 28 October 2010 in Sarajevo a seminar on the implementation of legislation on arms imports and exports. The seminar, attended by officials from the Indirect Taxation Authority (ITA) as well as several security agencies, was organized within the framework of SEESAC’s efforts to support the strengthening of arms export controls in the Western Balkans. The seminar was opened by Mr. Dragiša Mekić, Assistant Minister of Foreign Trade and Economic Relations, who stated that the customs were an essential part of the system of controls and that increasing their capacity to recognize controlled goods as well as their understanding of procedures would significantly contribute to increasing transparency and reducing illicit trafficking.

During the seminar, participants listened to a comprehensive introduction on BiH national legislation on arms imports and exports, including an overview of the legal framework; the procedures for issuing of import and export licenses; and the database of license maintained by MOFTER. Discussion was centered on the opportunities for inter-institutional cooperation and in particular the modalities for information exchange between the customs and MOFTER as well as the customs contribution to the national and regional arms export reports. Finally, the seminar concluded with a session on recognition of controlled goods and information exchange on licenses. The aim was to identify the areas where support was needed in order to improve cooperation and increase efficiency.

The Agenda of the meeting can be downloaded here.