Asia-Europe customs talks

Asia-Europe customs talks

TOKYO (AFP): Customs officials from Asia and Europe will hold a meeting, the first of its kind, in the Chinese city of Shenzhen next month, a senior Japanese finance ministry official said yesterday.

The June 21-22 meeting, to be held just after a gathering of the World Customs Organization in neighboring Hong Kong, was proposed by Japan during the first-ever summit of Asian and European leaders in Bangkok two months ago, the official said.

The Shenzhen conference will focus on harmonizing customs procedures and cracking down on weapons and drug trafficking, the official said.

"These are two sides of the same coin," he said, adding that harmonization and simplification of customs procedures alone could lead to greater trafficking of weapons and drugs.

"We have to harmonize both aspects at a high level," the official said.