The 8th Session of the World Customs Organisation (WCO) Capacity Building Committee (CBC) was held from 07 to 09 March 2017 under the theme “Mercator Programme: Building Networks, Partnerships and Economies”, bringing together more than 230 delegates from Customs administrations, WCO regional structures (Regional Offices for Capacity Building or ROCBs and Regional Training Centres or RTCs), international organisations, academia and the private sector organisations.
The first day consisted of a Joint Session with the 7th Meeting of the WCO Trade Facilitation Agreement Working Group (TFAWG). The opening address by the Deputy Secretary of WCO, Mr. Sergio, highlighted the significance of the joint session and stressed renewed momentum for implementation of the Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA) that entered into force on 22 February 2017.
The Joint Session discussed the successes of the WCO Mercator Programme, a dedicated Capacity Building Programme to support Members in the harmonised implementation of the TFA using WCO instruments and tools such as the Revised Kyoto Convention, the WCO Time Release Study and the SAFE Framework of Standards.
The Joint Session also endorsed the Mercator Programme’s future operating modalities and delivery plan to further optimise the technical assistance to members who requested support from the WCO in implementing the TFA.
On the second day, the CBC voiced its appreciation of the progress and outcomes in WCO capacity building delivery since the last session. The WCO had delivered more than 330 capacity building missions across WCO regions resulting in an increase of 20% more missions per month compared to the last reporting period. The CBC acknowledged the importance for administrations to acquire capacities to manage development projects and programmes, particularly for initiatives that demand multi-institutional engagement. A new Project Management training package and the Maturity Model aimed at measuring members’ progress towards implementation of the TFA were endorsed.
The CBC concluded on the third day with the second joint session with the Integrity Subcommittee (ISC). “Collective action to Promote Integrity” was a highly engaging topic of the Joint Session with the ISC.