20th Anniversary of the State Customs Committee of the Republic of Azerbaijan –
report provided by the WCO Regional Office for Capacity Building (ROCB) for the Europe Region
Baku, 27-30 January 2012
On 27- 30 January 2012 the State Customs Committee of the Republic of Azerbaijan celebrated its 20th Anniversary.
Some 300 representatives of Customs Academic Universities and Institutes from Azerbaijan and 20 other countries as well as delegates of some international and regional organizations (UNECE, INCU) attended the International Conference “The Role of Customs Regulation in Economic Security in a Globalized Environment”, held on 27th of January 2012 in the premises of the Baku State University. The Conference was dedicated to the 20th Anniversary of the Customs Service of Azerbaijan.
The opening of the Conference was attended by high Government officials, Members of Parliament and Academia.
After the plenary session chaired by Mr. Aliyev, Director General of the State Customs Committee of the Republic of Azerbaijan, the Conference continued in four break-out sections.
During the 2nd section: Management of Customs systems and ways of improvement, the Head of the WCO Europe ROCB in Baku delivered a presentation with the focus on WCO Management Development Tools. Participants’ awareness of the WCO Management Development programme could be sharpened, as well as of new Leadership Development workshops for Members and of the contents of the WCO PICARD programme, which provides for Customs partnership with Academia. In the final part of the presentation, the WCO regionalization strategy and the role of the new Europe ROCB were promoted. The information was warmly accepted by delegates.
A number of useful contacts in the Customs academic field were established, and some joint projects strengthening the partnership of the ROCB and the WCO Europe Regional Training Centers (RTCs) with academic educational centers in the region were envisaged and will be followed up.
All participants of the Conference were given an opportunity to visit the Customs Risk Management Center located at the premises of Azeri Customs in Baku, where they could watch it “in action”. The functionality of the modern, fully automated Customs IT system provides for an advanced exchange of electronic data and is linked in an on-line mode to all major Azeri check-points and Customs Houses. The demonstration was very impressive.
On 30 January 2012, an Azerbaijan Customs Administration’s staff Solemn Meeting was held. The Meeting was again chaired by Mr. Aliyev. At the Meeting, the WCO Secretary General’s congratulation message to the Customs Administration of Azerbaijan was delivered and very warmly accepted by the audience. During the meeting, the latest Decree of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan on the establishment of a new Customs Academy of Azerbaijan in Baku was highlighted as clear evidence of the high-level political support granted to the implementation of the reform and modernization programme of the Customs Service of Azerbaijan.