WCO/JICA Trains Customs Officers to Become Master Trainers for Customs Administrations in the Pacific Islands

The World Customs Organisation (WCO) in cooperation with the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) has organised the first Working Group Activity (WG1) of the Master Trainer Programme (MTP) on Risk Management (RM) and Post Clearance Audit (PCA) which is being held at the Fiji Revenue and Customs Service (FRCS) Headquarters in Suva. MTP is the flagship program of the WCO/JICA Joint Project and is aimed at working with customs administrations to build more sustainable training capacity on key customs topicsthrough the development of a pool of highly experienced trainers, tailor-made training materials and training programme/course curricula.

30 customs officers from Fiji, Palau, Papua New Guinea (PNG), Samoa, Solomon Islands, Timor Leste, Tonga and Vanuatu are attending the MTP Working Group Activity 1. Expressing gratitude for the assistance from WCO and JICA in enhancing capacity development of customs administrations in the Pacific, FRCS CEO, Mr. Udit Singh stated that the MTP is important for Fiji as well as other Pacific Island countries as it will help develop the skills and capacity of customs professionals which can help to enhance revenue collection, support economic development, build regional cooperation and improve border security.

FRCS Director Border and Customs, Ms. Shelini Kumar stated that MTP is not just another training initiative as it represents a critical step forward in enhancing our expertise and broadening our capacity to manage the increasing complexities of customs and border management. “Our collective goal is to build a resilient customs service that can meet the demands of a rapidly changing global landscape,” Ms. Kumar said. JICA has been implementing MTP with WCO since 2016. In the Pacific, the first MTP which was on the Customs Valuation and the Harmonised System (HS) classification was implemented from 2021 to June 2024 targeting 6 countries and resulting in 21 Master Trainers.

JICA Fiji Office Resident Representative, Satoshi Wakasugi is confident that the JICA/WCO Joint Project will contribute to enhance trade facilitation and revenue collection for targeted countries in the Pacific Islands. “This MTP is in line with the strengthen capacity building for financial management, that is the partnership strategy among the governments of Pacific Islands and Japan and was mentioned in the Joint Action Plan of the 10th Pacific Islands Leaders meeting (PALM 10) in Tokyo which was adopted in July 2024.

According to the Deputy Manager WCO/JICA Joint Project, Mr. Masaya Deguchi, MTP was not limited to the Pacific. “We have had similar programs in Africa and are conducting one in Central Asia and Caucasus. Through these programs, we have produced over 210 Master Trainers and they have gone ahead and conducted trainings for a staggering 49,000 individuals from government officials to private sector professionals between 2018 to 2023 in Africa, ”Mr. Deguchi said.

“As we embark on this journey together, I am confident that the knowledge and skills you gain will not only benefit your respective countries but also strengthen our collective efforts in the region,” he said.

Last Updated - November 20, 2024