Fiji, 05-06 November 2013

The 11th Meeting of the Heads of Asia/Pacific WCO Regional Training Centers (RTCs) was held at the RTC Fiji in Suva, Fiji on 5-6 November 2013. The meeting was chaired by Mr. Jitoko Tikolevu, Chief Executive Officer of Fiji Revenue and Customs Authority (FRCA). In addition to the delegates from 7 RTCs in the region, namely RTC China, RTC Fiji, RTC Hong Kong China, RTC India, RTC Japan, RTC Korea and RTC Malaysia, representatives from the WCO Secretariat, Asia/Pacific Vice-Chair Office and Asia/Pacific Regional Office for Capacity Building (ROCB A/P) attended the meeting. A delegate from Oceania Customs Organization (OCO) Secretariat also attended the meeting as an observer.

At the meeting, all RTCs shared information on their respective latest activities and initiatives. In the spirit of Asia/Pacific Regional Strategic Plan (RSP) 2012-2014 that stresses the high importance of enhancing regional cooperation on capacity building, the RTCs agreed to work together on several concrete actions for the benefit of regional experts who will be key for regional Capacity Building delivery. These actions include, but are not limited to, disseminating valuable information and providing further opportunity to enhance their expertise/facilitation and training techniques. The RTCs also exchanged ideas on how to improve training evaluation and on the use of innovative training methods/approaches.

It is expected that the forward-looking discussions among RTCs and ROCB/Vice Chair/WCO Secretariat will contribute to further progress of the region through enhanced regional cooperation on Capacity Building.