Thirty two representatives from 25 Customs administrations participated in the WCO Asia/Pacific Regional Workshop on Risk Management and Post Seizure Analysis held from 4 to 8 December 2017.  The Workshop, hosted by the WCO Regional Training Centre (Japan Customs Training Institute: CTI) in Kashiwa, Japan, was organized in cooperation with Japan Customs and the WCO Asia/Pacific Regional Office for Capacity Building (ROCB A/P), with the sponsorship of the Japanese Customs Cooperation Fund (CCF-Japan).  In addition to the lead resource person from the WCO Secretariat, experts from Japan and Malaysia as well as the representative from the ROCB A/P joined the workshop as speakers and facilitators. 

During the opening remarks, Mr. Naoki Ida, Director for Technical Cooperation of the Customs and Tariff Bureau of the Ministry of Finance, and representatives of the WCO and the ROCB A/P welcomed the participants and highlighted the importance of risk management, intelligence and post seizure analysis in Customs’ daily work. They also emphasized the relationship between risk-based selectivity and effective resource allocation as well as the implications for trade facilitation.

Certain elements of risk management at the organizational level were covered during the first day of the Workshop, and then the contents focused on intelligence support to risk management and post seizure analysis. Main components of risk assessment, profiling and targeting, setting up a national targeting center were also covered. Essential elements of an effective risk management system were discussed during the fifth day. The Workshop included a number of group tasks, practical exercises, case studies and country presentations. Each session was followed by lively discussions, questions and answers sessions. Throughout the group works and country presentations, participants entered into in-depth discussions on how to implement the theory and the methodology explained in the WCO Customs Risk Management Compendium. Case studies and practical exercises also contributed to deepening the understanding of the covered topics.

At the closing session, Mr. Masaki Okamoto, Senior Director of the CTI, and representatives of the WCO and the ROCB A/P congratulated the participants for their accomplishment and reminded them of the importance of having well-trained personnel and institutionalizing the lessons learned for the success of a risk management programme within the respective administrations. On behalf of the all of the participants and speakers, a participant expressed his appreciation to the WCO, the ROCB A/P, the CCF/Japan and the CTI for the wonderful setting and coordination for this workshop, and pledged their continued commitment to elevating their operational capacities.