WCO Secretary General Kunio Mikuriya chaired a Press Conference in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo, on 24 September 2015, to announce the final results of Operation Westerlies 3 which had taken place from 6 to 15 March 2015.  More than 100 invited guests from some 40 African countries attended the Conference.  Around 20 Directors General of Customs were also present, as was a delegation from the African Union.

Alongside the Secretary General were Mr. Rugwiza Magera, Director General of Customs and Excise of the Democratic Republic of Congo, who had organized the Conference, and Mr. Shigeru Ushio, Ambassador of Japan to DR Congo; Japan was the main financial contributor to Operation Westerlies 3.

Mr. Mikuriya drew attention, in particular, to the fact that the results achieved had been exceptional, thanks to the combined effects of the training sessions conducted in advance of the Operation, the coordination established between the different Customs and Police services, and finally, the information sharing made possible by the use of the WCO’s secure, encrypted communication tool (CENcomm).

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Photo of the panel (from left to right): Mr. Shigeru Ushio, Ambassador of Japan to DR Congo, Mr. Rugwiza Magera, Director General of Customs and Excise of the DRC, Kunio Mikuriya, WCO Secretary General, Pierre Bertrand, WCO.