Western Balkan AEO Association hosted working meeting with International AEO Association of Turkiye
The President of the Western Balkans AEO Association, Mr. Genc Çeli, met today with Mr. Mehmet Altay Yeğin, Chairman of the International AEO Association of Türkiye (YYSD) and his staff. The meeting marked the first formal exchange between the two organisations and laid the foundation for closer institutional cooperation.
In an open and constructive discussion, both sides shared their experiences in representing AEO-certified companies, engaging with national customs administrations, and contributing to the wider international AEO community. The Turkish side presented its decade-long experience operating Türkiye’s Mutual Recognition Agreement with South Korea, its active role with the Turkish Ministry of Trade, and its recent international expansion, including its application for membership in the WCO Private Sector Consultative Group.
The Western Balkans AEO Association presented its regional structure across the six WB6 economies, its work supported by the GIZ RegioTrade/ EU4Trade project Commission by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development, co-funded by the European Union, and the role its members play in connecting trusted traders across the South-East European market.
Both sides recognized the strong complementarity between the two organizations and the shared interest of their members in trade facilitation, mutual recognition, and alignment with EU customs standards. The two Presidents agreed to deepen collaboration through a formal cooperation framework, joint advocacy on AEO Mutual Recognition between Türkiye and the Western Balkans, exchanges of expertise and publications, and mutual participation in each other’s events.
The meeting closed with a joint commitment to continue this dialogue and to translate the shared agenda into concrete deliverables in the coming months.
