At the invitation of the Royal Customs and Excise Department of Brunei Darussalam, Mr. Yoshihiro Kosaka, Head of the Asia/Pacific Regional Office for Capacity Building (ROCB A/P) as well as being a WCO-accredited expert on the Revised Kyoto Convention (RKC), visited Bandar Seri Begawan in Brunei Darussalam to conduct a WCO National Workshop on the RKC from 13 to16 January 2014. The Workshop was attended by a total of 29 mid-level Customs officers from Brunei Customs.

In the light of the Asia/Pacific Regional Strategic Plan for 2012-2014, ROCB A/P has been making every effort to accelerate Members’ accession to the RKC in the Asia/Pacific region. In April 2013 a WCO Sub-Regional Workshop on the RKC for South East Asian countries was held in Malaysia, with sponsorship from CCF Japan, and Brunei Customs participated in this. As one of the follow-up activities, this national workshop was held at the invitation of Brunei Customs, to provide targeted and country-focused technical support to Brunei Customs based on the gap initially identified, during the sub-regional workshop, between the RKC provisions and the national legislation of Brunei Darussalam.

The outcome of this Workshop has been tangible in that it has enabled Brunei Darussalam to gain a clear understanding of the RKC, particularly with regard to its benefits and the accession process. Following the gap analysis and strategic planning activity, they now have a clear roadmap for acceding to the RKC in the near future. The ROCB A/P has agreed to provide ongoing support to Brunei Customs for the achievement of this goal.