Customs Commissioner Rozzano Rufino Biazon and the Philippine Bureau of Customs (BOC) take centerstage this year, in the creation of the ASEAN Economic Community by 2015, as he assumes the Chairmanship of the ASEAN organization of Customs Chiefs and the BOC plays host to the four-day 21st Meeting of Customs Directors-General from the 10 ASEAN member countries.

The meeting, which kicked-off with the formal turn-over of the ASEAN meeting’s Chairmanship from out-going Chair and Myanmar Customs Chief Htun Thein to in-coming Chair Philippine Customs Commissioner Biazon during the opening ceremonies at the Marriot Hotel Resorts World today, marks a historic era for the country’s Bureau of Customs.

“Our hosting of this year’s meeting of ASEAN Customs Chiefs will not only bring honor to our country and the BOC, this will also bring us to the forefront of Customs modernization,” Biazon said.

“While our on-going customs modernization and reforms program has already made significant headways in making our customs administration at par with that of our ASEAN neighbors, it can further be enhanced from the lessons we shall learn and the partnerships and cooperation we shall establish through this meeting,” Biazon added.

The annual gathering of Customs Chiefs from Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam, is part of a series of consultative meetings to establish a community of ASEAN nations that aim to share a common strategic plan of Customs development, a single window for customs transactions, a common cargo highway and capacity building, as well as to establish partnerships with various donor countries and global organizations.

Customs Administrators from Asia’s most advanced Customs agencies like Japan, China and Korea will also be attending the meeting to affirm their cooperation for the ASEAN nations’ initiatives, even as they will also share their own experiences in modernizing and reforming their respective Customs agencies.

Representatives from global institutions like the Asian Development Bank (ADB), Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and most especially the Secretary General of the World Customs Organization, Kunio Mikuriya will also be attending the four-day event.

To make the ASEAN meeting an even more enlightening gathering, representatives of the US-ASEAN Business Council and the Conference of Asia- Pacific Carriers (CAPEC) will also be attending the event to interact and share their experiences and vision for the ASEAN Economic Community in 2015 as well.