The WCO organized a National Workshop on Advance Passenger Information (API)/Passenger Name Record (PNR) in Tashkent, Uzbekistan from 5 to 7 June 2019. The Workshop was held to support the Administration with modernizing its passenger control procedures through the use of advance passenger data. In his? introductory remarks, Mr. Akramov Ravshan, Head of International Cooperation (Customs Administration of Uzbekistan), thanked the WCO for providing his Administration with technical assistance. He went on to state that his? Administration had recently introduced a selective control programme based on red and green channels for air passengers. Accordingly, the Workshop would be very useful in terms of strengthening the new programme with robust automated risk management based on the use of passenger data.
During the Workshop, the WCO representatives guided participants through an interactive thematic discussion and provided detailed explanations of API and PNR. The representatives underscored the importance of using existing international standards when implementing an API/PNR system, in order to make the implementation efficient and cost-effective. They also explained that passenger data should be used responsibly, in accordance with relevant laws and regulations and by respecting basic human rights and fundamental freedoms.
A Workshop participant informed the WCO representatives that the Uzbekistan Administration received passenger manifest lists from the national air carrier on a voluntary basis. He went on to say that amendments to the relevant legal instruments were needed to make the practice mandatory for all air carriers operating international flights from and to Uzbekistan.
The Workshop participants were invited to take part in a practical exercise to develop passenger risk profiles using sample passenger data and cases of Customs offences. Through the exercise, participants were introduced to a number of key indicators for risk profiling.
On the last day of the Workshop, a number of representatives of other government agencies, namely the Civil Aviation Authority, Border Force, General Prosecutor and Ministry of Internal Affairs, joined in the activities and discussed the importance of inter-agency cooperation for managing the flow of air passengers. The Workshop participants agreed that harmonized data sharing under a passenger Single Window platform could facilitate collaboration between different government agencies as part of the overall passenger facilitation and control processes.