President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev has received Secretary General of the World Customs Organization (WCO) Kunio Mikuriya.

WCO Secretary General Kunio Mikuriya congratulated the head of state on his victory in last year`s presidential election. He also thanked Azerbaijan for supporting his election to the post of Secretary General of the World Customs Organization.

President Ilham Aliyev thanked for the congratulations, and congratulated Kunio Mikuriya on his election as the WCO Secretary General. The head of state described this as recognition of Kunio Mikuriya`s fruitful activity, saying Azerbaijan highly appreciates what the WCO has been doing under his leadership.

President Ilham Aliyev pointed to the ongoing large-scale reforms in all areas in Azerbaijan, including in customs, saying they yield very good results.

The head of state noted that he wants Azerbaijan’s customs system to be one of the world’s most transparent ones, and expressed his hope that the WCO will continue to assist the country in achieving this goal.

WCO Secretary General Kunio Mikuriya hailed Azerbaijan’s customs system as exemplary, saying its activities comply with the organization`s standards.

Kunio Mikuriya said he was greatly impressed by how Azerbaijan is fighting against corruption, applying technologies that meet international standards and creating a favorable business climate, and added that all this is crucial to transparent work of customs authorities.

The head of state thanked for the kind words. The President noted that the fight against corruption is one of the key priorities in Azerbaijan. President Ilham Aliyev said consistent measures taken in customs have led to transparency, adding that customs revenues have exceeded the planned amount.

Pointing out the improvement of favorable business environment in Azerbaijan, the head of state described the fact that the World Bank ranked Azerbaijan among the top 10 reformers globally and that Azerbaijan climbed 32 spots to rank 25th in the World Bank’s Doing Business 2019 report as a remarkable event.

President Ilham Aliyev emphasized that Azerbaijan will continue to carry out large-scale reforms in the years to come, and expressed his confidence that Azerbaijan will maintain fruitful cooperation with the World Customs Organization.