The 2nd Meeting of the World Customs Organization (WCO) Europe Region National Contact Points for Capacity Building was held from 28 to 30 January 2019 at the Regional Office for Capacity Building for the World Customs Organization Europe Region (ROCB Europe) in Baku, Azerbaijan.
Delegates from 21 Member Administrations in the WCO Europe Region, representatives from the WCO Secretariat and ROCB Europe participated in the meeting to share their views and evaluate issues of common interest.
Participants were briefed and updated on ROCB Europe and its activities as well as its initiatives and proposals, WCO Strategy and organizational development, needs assessment process, WCO Mercator Program and presentations on experiences by Kazakhstan, Albania, Norway and WCO East and South Africa Region together with expert mobilization and WCO’s blended approach in customs training.
In the context of the meeting, the delegates underlined the need for a closer and enhanced cooperation especially on regional capacity building initiatives. It was also highlighted that the ROCB Europe would play an important role in coordinating these initiatives in collaboration with the WCO Secretariat. In this context, the question of how to strengthen ROCB Europe was also taken under consideration during the meeting.
There was also a consensus that a mechanism for better and smooth communication is a must and the participants agreed that there is a need for a document specifying the role of contact points as well. Regional priorities and correctly assessing the results and impacts of activities were among the matters evaluated.
On the last of the meeting, the participants attended the Inaugural Ceremony of WCO e-Learning Platform Installation in Azerbaijan Customs.
