Saudi Customs Jeddah Islamic Port won the 10th "Makkah Award for Excellence'' for economic excellence, in recognition of Saudi Customs' implemented programs and initiatives which contributed to the optimization of customs clearance procedures. On this occasion, Ahmed bin Abdulaziz Alhakbani, Governor of the General Customs Authority, expressed his pride in winning this award noting its significance in promoting the culture of excellence in government performance. He extended his sincere gratitude and appreciation to the advisor to the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, Prince Khalid Al Faisal, Governor of Makkah Region and Prince Badr Bin Sultan bin Abdulaziz, Deputy Governor of Makkah Region and the General Secretariat of the awards that honored and encouraged the award -winning organizations. Alhakbani explained that since the announcement of its strategy, Saudi Customs launched several programs and initiatives aimed at improving the efficiency of trade exchange between the Kingdom and the rest of the worl. These initiatives resulted in reducing the import/export documents to two documents only, the electronic submission of customs declarations without the need of customs review, and the pre-arrival electronic submission before shipment arrival at Saudi ports Alhakbani further said the launch of the 24-hours clearance program was one of the most significant achievements, which created a qualitative leap by reducing the duration of the customs clearance from 8 days to less than 48 hours, and less than 24 hours for pre-arrival electronic submission of shipments. This improved clearance program had a positive impact on stimulating the performance of the local market and improving the Kingdom's global ranking in the cross-border trade and logistics performance index. He also pointed out that the Saudi Customs is seeking through its vision, to become the first in the region to provide remarkable customs services, thus enabling the Kingdom to become a global logistics hub. He emphasized that Saudi Customs will spare no efforts to facilitate trade, along with tightening customs control, which will contribute to the security of the nation and its resources. Alhakbani also valued the contribution of Jeddah Islamic Port employees who played a major role in winning the Makkah Award for Excellence. — SG
