The 1^st Caribbean Top Management Dialogue organized by the World Customs Organization (WCO) and the Caribbean Customs Law Enforcement Council (CCLEC) funded by CCF Korea was held from the 18^th to the 20^th November 2014 in Kingston, Jamaica. The Dialogue aims to bring together the senior executives from Customs administrations to consider and discuss the key strategic issues that impact on their operating environment and ways to respond to these issues, as well as strengthen cooperation and coordination between the English-speaking Caribbean Region members within the Americas.

The Dialogue brought together the top Customs executives from Bermuda, Barbados, Trinidad and Tobago, Guyana, Jamaica, Saint Lucia, Curacao and Belize. The event was facilitated by Mr. Erich Kieck, WCO Director Capacity Building, and Mr. Hector Landeros, WCO Regional Development Manager for the Americas and Caribbean region. The opening addresses were given by Major Richard Reese, Commissioner of Customs, Jamaica Customs Agency, Mr. Miguel del Villar, Vice Chair for the Americas and Caribbean region, Mr. Myeng-Ku Lee, Director General, FTA Implementation Bureau, Korea Customs Service, and Mr. Paul Hilaire, CCLEC Permanent Secretary.

Discussions focussed on the regional priorities of strategic leadership of Customs, stakeholder engagement, performance measurement and compliance management. The Dialogue group followed a series of steps to reflect on what elements could assist enhancing their Customs administrations deal with these priorities from a strategic perspective. Provision was also made for an interactive sharing of national experiences on these topics.

By the end of the last day, the English-speaking Caribbean countries, along with the Vice Chair of the region, acknowledged the importance of the Top Management Dialogue by giving its full support to the commitments outlined in a Declaration Statement developed by the group.