The World Customs Organization (WCO) held a Risk Management (RM) Workshop from 23 to 27 July 2018 in Addis Ababa (Ethiopia) to enhance the application, within the Ethiopian Revenues and Customs Authority (ERCA), of RM on export, transit and other Customs activities such as warehousing, with particular emphasis on risk assessment, profiling and targeting.

The Workshop brought together 19 Customs officials from the RM Department, Intelligence Division, Customs Regional Offices and Border Enforcement. It was organized with financial support from the WCO Finland Fund.

The Workshop’s main focus was to build the capacity of Ethiopian Customs officials, with the aim of ensuring compliance with Customs laws and regulations as regards the import and export of goods, movement of travellers and border protection, including national security. The Workshop was also designed to accelerate economic growth by facilitating foreign trade and investment in the country.

The rapid increase in international trade limits the time for Customs interventions on cross-border movements of goods, passengers and means of transport. It is therefore imperative for Customs administrations to apply RM strategies and techniques within their daily activities, and this requires a more effective approach to the planning and implementation of Customs controls.

The Workshop provided the right opportunity for Ethiopian Customs to strengthen its existing RM processes, and to adopt new approaches for future operations involving risk assessment, profiling and targeting, including information exchange and intelligence.

During the Workshop, participants were highly engaged in the theoretical and practical sessions and took full advantage of the possibility to exchange views and share experiences among themselves and with the WCO facilitators. The ensuing presentations and discussions on the WCO Customs Risk Management Compendium deepened their knowledge of risk identification and the development of profiles.

The Workshop greatly contributed to a broader understanding of the various topics and also offered a suitable platform for the WCO facilitators and ERCA participants to take cognizance of the developments with respect to the Single Window, which is due to be implemented by ERCA shortly.

ERCA expressed its appreciation to the WCO for the Workshop and for the continued support with RM and other Customs areas.