The WCO worked with colleagues from the General Department of Vietnam Customs (GDVC) in a series of consultation meetings held in Ho Chi Minh City and Bình Dương from 17 to 18 March, 2016. The meetings were supported by the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (NORAD) under the project "Customs Capacity Building for WCO Members 2012-2017." The WCO NORAD project aims at delivering technical assistance to seven countries: Timor Leste, Liberia, Mozambique, Nicaragua, Rwanda, Tanzania and Vietnam.

The consultation events focused on the design and implementation of new Customs regulations for the automation of procedures. Building on training previously provided as part of the WCO NORAD project, officers from the GDVC Stakeholder Engagement team assisted colleagues from the regional Customs Office in meetings with stakeholders from the business community. The meetings were highly interactive and provided an excellent opportunity to exchange views, identify key challenges and to agree a joint plan of activities to improve systems and procedures. Key learning points from the sessions are to be included in a newly developed Stakeholder Engagement Training Module and supporting handbook.

For more information on the project for "Customs Capacity Building for WCO Members: 2012-17" please contact the Project Manager, Mr. Philip Wood Philip.Wood@wcoomd.org