Customs officials from Laos, China and Thailand meet for talks in Vientiane on Monday.

Laos, China, Thailand mull improved customs clearance at shared borders

Customs officials from Laos, China and Thailand are cooperating in efforts to facilitate trade by streamlining customs procedures at their shared borders.
Officials from the three countries met in Vientiane yesterday for the 9th trilateral meeting to discuss customs procedures at border crossings along the Kunming-Bangkok Highway and the Lancang-Mekong River.
The meeting takes place from September 11-13 and will address work to prevent smuggling and ways to share intelligence in relation to the illicit import and export of drugs and drug precursor chemicals, waste, IPR infringing goods, and other illicit items.
Officials are also discussing ways to ease cross-border transport, especially with regard to the transport of freight on the Laos-China railway and the inspection of agricultural produce. Also on the agenda are problems arising during customs clearance and how officials at the different border crossings can resolve these issues.
Meeting participants will also visit the Lao Customs offices at the Thanaleng Dry Port, which is biggest customs checkpoint in Laos. 
The meeting is also an opportunity for tax officials from the three countries to discuss ways to increase their cooperation in this area of work and to learn from each other’s best practices.
Officials will discuss ways to enforce customs laws while also easing the passage of goods at border crossings, to ensure easier trade and commercial activities between the three countries. This is necessary to boost operations and improve tax cooperation under the Lancang-Mekong River framework.
Participants are also sharing opinions on customs control and inspection procedures around the import and export of goods, and reviewing the results of cooperation in this field since the 8th trilateral meeting. Speaking at the opening of the meeting, Director General of the Lao Customs Department, Mr Phoukhaokham Vannavongxay, said “This meeting is a golden opportunity to learn from each other and share ideas and experiences to further enhance mutual trust and deepen customs cooperation to simplify trade and enable effective and smooth customs clearance at borders.”
This will foster the sustainable development of trade relations between the three countries and create a brighter future for Lancang-Mekong customs cooperation,” he said.
Trilateral meetings between Laos, China and Thailand are part of regional cooperation under the Mekong-Lancang River framework that was set up 10 years ago.
The purpose of the trilateral tax cooperation framework in the Mekong-Lancang River area is to facilitate trade along the Bangkok-Kunming and Mekong-Lancang River routes.

By Times Reporters
(Latest Update September 12, 2023)