ISLAMABAD – Top Saudi government officials arrive in Pakistan for keymeetings with FBR and Custom Authorities in order to increase bilateralrelations at government levels.

A five-member delegation of Saudi Customs Authority visited the FederalBoard of Revenue to discuss various matters of mutual interest andassistance. The Saudi delegation was headed by Mr. Muhammad AlNuaim, DeputyGovernor of Security Affairs.

The Pakistani side was headed by Mr. Shabbar Raza Zaidi, Chairman FederalBoard of Revenue. Mr. Muhammad Javed Ghani, Member (Customs-Policy), Mr.Jawwad Uwais Agha (Member-Operations) and other senior officers of Pakistancustoms also participated in the meeting.

Both sides shared their experiences in the law enforcement domain andexplored avenues of future cooperation in the following areas:

1. Exchange of Information, on a real-time basis, between both countries regarding values of goods originating from both countries. 2. Exchange of intelligence based information to effectively control the illicit flow of currency. 3. Development of authorized economic cooperation program between both countries. 4. Profiling of advance passenger information. 5. Cooperation between Saudi Customs and Pakistani Customs in order to arrest the senders and recipients of drugs. 6. Exchange of post-seizure and arrest investigations. 7. Designation of contact officers for mutual cooperation. 8. Capacity building for automation/harmonization of customs procedures.

It was underscored that the menace of narcotics, smuggling, andunder-invoicing/over-invoicing are the primary sources of illicit financialflows (IFFs) which is a global phenomenon. It was mutually agreed that nocountry can cope with these cross border challenges without ensuringinternational cooperation.

Therefore, both countries need to support each other through internationalforums as well as Customs to Customs Cooperation under Mutual AssistanceAgreements.