30 representatives from 21 countries gathered in Baku, Azerbaijan on 8-9 December 2014 for participation in the first meeting of the WCO Europe Region National Contact Points for Capacity Building. The meeting took place in the premises of the Regional Office for Capacity Building (ROCB) in Baku with the generous support of the State Customs Committee of the Republic of Azerbaijan.

The main goal for this two-day event was to clarify the role and tasks of the National Contact Points for Capacity Building in the Member Customs administrations in order to foster better collaboration between them and the WCO Secretariat in Brussels as well as with the ROCB.

It was designed as an awareness-raising workshop aiming also at familiarizing and updating the representatives of the Europe Region Members with the WCO Customs modernization concepts, tools and instruments. Information was provided on the WCO strategy and priorities as well as on the Customs modernization and organizational development approach and the latest new support tools developed by the WCO.

The National Contact Points of Member States who participated in the first regional meeting are expected to play a crucial role as a two-way communication and information channel to support the WCO in meeting better the Capacity Building needs of the region.