As part of a continuous effort and longstanding commitment by the Americas/Caribbean Region to enhance risk management capabilities and regional cooperation, as well as to define common goals and strategies, a Risk Management Workshop was conducted from 21 to 25 October 2013 at the WCO Regional Training Centre in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. This Workshop was one of a series of events on regional risk management cooperation organized by the WCO, under the sponsorship of Japan.
The five-day Workshop brought together 23 participants from 18 different countries in an interactive and practical working environment that enabled a lively exchange of experiences, best practices, challenges and innovative ideas in the area of risk management.
Officers attending this event consolidated their understanding of technical concepts in this domain, as outlined in the WCO Risk Management Compendium, through practical learning methods. They were also provided with an overview of other WCO tools contained in the Compliance and Enforcement Package that serve to support their tasks in this area.
Discussions focused on a recent regional operation that targeted undervaluation of textiles, with national and regional results being shared and discussed, as well as on the challenges posed by the implementation of this initiative and how to make best use of the WCO’s communication tools. Participants highlighted the positive impacts generated by the operation both inside and outside their respective administrations and discussed future actions to tackle common challenges. In addition to the practical group work, all the participants and WCO facilitators were given presentations and a tour of the Dominican Republic’s Port of Haina Oriental.
As regards the main output of the Workshop, and building on the success of the recently completed Operation Dragon, timely and accurate exchange of information was considered to be crucial. A new regional targeting project was therefore designed by the participants to continue this progressive process. The participants expressed their commitment and readiness to continue working together enthusiastically and pledged to achieve specific project milestones to ensure ongoing communication and efforts.