At the invitation of the Director General of French Customs, Ms. Hélène Crocquevieille, Secretary General Kunio Mikuriya participated in the "Coordinated Border Management" Symposium, held at the National Customs Museum in Bordeaux on 28 January 2015 to celebrate International Customs Day.

The Symposium was composed of three round table sessions: "Towards a redefinition of the concept of the border in the 21st Century", "Economic efficiency of border management" and "Towards a new model of coordinated border management".

Secretary General Mikuriya joined academics, representatives from Customs, the region, maritime port authorities, industry and immigration authorities to discuss the evolving environment and mission of Customs, the importance of partnerships based on mutual understanding and trust, and sharing information for risk management purposes to further improve Customs' performance, thus enabling Customs to collaborate more effectively with different actors at the border.  He congratulated French Customs on its initiative to enhance coordinated border management by organizing the Symposium which involved lively discussions with invited stakeholders in the setting of the magnificent Customs museum, where the history and contribution of Customs to society are depicted and highlighted.

After the concluding remarks of Secretary General Mikuriya, the French Secretary of State for the Budget, Mr. Christian Eckert, formally concluded the Symposium.