Successful kick- off of two New MTP activities to support Pacific Islands WCO Members on Risk Management and Post Clearance Audit

Under the auspices of the WCO/JICA (Japan International Cooperation Agency) Joint Project and in collaboration with the Fiji Revenue and Customs Service (FRCS), the WCO conducted the first two Working Group (WG) activities of the Master Trainer Programme (MTP) on Risk Management (RM) and Post Clearance Audit (PCA) for the Pacific Islands countries, namely Fiji, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Timor-Leste, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga and Vanuatu. The two Sub-regional activities took place at the WCO Asia Pacific Regional Training Center in Suva, Fiji, from 11 to 15 November 2024.

These new MTPs follow the notable success of the MTPs on HS and CV, conducted from 2021 to 2024, and were launched to support the Pacific Islands Customs Administrations in developing a "Regional Experts Pool" for more sustainable capacity building in the region. The new MTPs saw the integration of two new WCO Members, Palau and Solomon Islands.

The objective of MTP is to establish a more self-sustainable and autonomous training capacity in key Customs work areas in the participating regions by developing a pool of well-qualified trainers and training materials/programmes that meet regional needs. To this end, the MTP trains the same nominated participants (WG members) through five WG and intersessional activities over 2-3 years. Upon completing the MTP, the Master Trainers are expected to deliver training on RM and PCA in their respective administrations and for the benefit of other countries in the region.

The opening ceremony was attended by Ms. Shelini Kumar, Director Border and Customs, FRCS, Mr. Satoshi Wakasugi, Resident Representative, JICA Fiji Office, and representatives from the Oceania Customs Organization, the Pacific Islands Forum and the Australian Border Force. These distinguished participants highlighted and emphasized the importance of the MTP in supporting the enhancement of expertise and the capacity to handle the increasing complexity of Customs and border management in the participating countries.

Thirty (30) Customs officials nominated by eight Customs administrations in the Pacific Islands gathered at RTC Fiji in Suva for the workshops. Throughout the two Working Group activities, each WG member shared the issues and challenges that their respective Customs administrations face in implementing RM and PCA and their efforts to strengthen the application of RM and PCA functions. WCO and Japan Customs experts shared their knowledge and expertise on RM and PCA from global and national perspectives and contributed to improving the knowledge and expertise of the WG members to enable them to become quality trainers.

At the end of the working group activities, WG members developed their collective work plans to achieve the objectives of the MTP through progressive follow-up activities. They expressed deep appreciation to the WCO and JICA for this new opportunity and to the participating experts for their dedication and for sharing their valuable knowledge and expertise.

The WCO and JICA welcomed the strong ownership and commitment demonstrated by the WG members from the very outset and reaffirmed their support for the continuing efforts of Customs administrations in the Pacific Islands to ensure sustainable capacity development.