Prime Minister Sherif Ismail has underscored the importance of tightening up control on all terminals and ports to face any attempts to smuggle goods and materials, especially strategic commodities, which, he said, poses threats to national security.

Ismail said it is necessary that the treasury receives all dues in stipulated real value, adding a detailed timetable should be adopted to link harbors with each other.

This came during a meeting on Monday with the heads of terminals and sea ports and officials concerned, with the attendance of the transport minister.

The meeting discussed measures to develop different terminals and ports in line with integrated plans and certain timetables. It adopted a package of decisions to boost work at the terminals and harbors. 

Legal amendments will be introduced to law No. 66 for the year 1963 to to toughen up penalties on smugglers and confiscate smuggled goods and ways of their smuggling.

A law will also be introduced to criminalize any bid of smuggling operations. 

Imported state-of-the-art systems will be installed at terminals and ports.

Measures to apply cyber customs will be finalized to further control exports and imports.

Source: MENA