Introduction of the Head of the Europe Regional Office for Capacity
ROCB opening ceremony in Baku, Azerbaijan, 17 October 2011
On 17 October 2011, the new WCO ROCB for the Europe Region was officially opened in Baku. The opening was attended by delegates of 44 Member Customs administrations, other ROCBs, RILOs and RTCs as well as some International organizations who were at the same time participants of the International Conference on the Fight Against the Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs, held in Azerbaijan.
The WCO was represented by Mr. Kunio Mikuriya, Mrs.Josephine Feehily (Chair of the Council) and Ms. Heike Barczyk, Deputy Director of the Capacity Building Directorate.
The ceremony was led by Mr. Aidyn Aliyev, DG of the Customs Administration of Azerbaijan. At the beginning Mr. Aliyev made an excursion all over the building and introduced its facilities to the guests.The Office premises are located in a brand new four-store building in the central part of Baku. It comprises suitably allocated rooms for the administrative staff and seconded officers, 2 rooms for face-to face training of 30 students, one class-room for computer training of 20 students, a large conference hall, fully equipped in terms of audio/video technique and simultaneous interpretation. The facility is suitable for hosting international meetings and conferences as well as regional training workshops and seminars.
Both Mrs. Josephine Feehily and Mr. Kunio Mikuriya in their opening speeches stressed the importance of the new ROCB as a leading WCO regional structure to coordinate and support Europe Members’ Capacity Building efforts. They highly appreciated the role and commitment of the Customs Administration of Azerbaijan in the implementation of this project.
The WCO Secretary General introduced Mr. Vitali Mikeladze as the Head of the Office and wished him good luck in all efforts to get the new ROCB up and running as soon as possible. Mr. Mikeladze is well-known to the Europe region having been the Regional Development Manager for this region during the time he spent until recently at the Capacity Building Directorate of the WCO Secretariat.
The WCO Secretariat would like to invite Member administrations of the Europe region and beyond to support the ROCB in Baku to the best extent possible as well as to benefit from the opportunities it offers. Members interested in a possible secondment of staff to the ROCB are welcome to get in contact with the Capacity Building Directorate.