In the face of a worldwide pandemic, the Global RILO Network stands united in support of all RILOs and in support of WCO Members during a challenging situation. This was the prevailing message stemming from the informal virtual meeting of the Global RILO Network organized by the WCO Secretariat on 16 June 2020. The RILOs and the WCO Secretariat convened to discuss the WCO’s response to the pandemic, the current challenges faced by the Global RILO Network during the COVID-19 crisis and to exchange best practices on the changing working methods of the WCO Secretariat and RILOs.

The participants, among them Heads of RILOs, RILO officers, and WCO Secretariat staff, discussed the impact of COVID-19 on their activities, and ways in which the Network can assist Members during this difficult time. Examples of fruitful cooperation between the RILOs were exchanged, including innovative ways of maintaining the communication channels open in the face of technical difficulties associated with COVID-19 measures. In this endeavor the CEN and CENcomm applications were indispensable tools for RILOs in order to continue their daily work.

This first informal virtual meeting of the Global RILO Network agreed on the approach of mutual support and cooperation, and decided to continue to hold quarterly virtual meetings in the future.