From 29 April to 10 May, the Sultanate of Oman hosted the Theoretical Training in the framework of the UNODC-WCO Container Control Programme (CCP) in Salalah. Oman joined the programme in 2016 as the first country of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC).The training was conducted by WCO technical experts who have already working experience in Oman. It was intended to support the establishment of a specialized Port Control Unit (PCU) at the Port of Salalah, the second PCU after the first one was established in the Port of Sohar.

The training covered various aspects on different types of risks on smuggling via maritime containerized traffic such as risk management, risk analysis on commercial documents, risk indicators, container search, types of concealments, seal tampering and the modus operandi “rip on / rip off”, targeting security risks, an introduction to the WCO Strategic Trade Enforcement implementation guide, CITES, IPR as well as practical risk management exercises; WCO and UN conventions and human rights were also covered. A total of 11 Customs officers participated in this training event.

Both the Oman participants and the training experts were satisfied with the outcomes of the training and motivated to continue with the staged training concept applied by the CCP.

Currently, Port Control Units established in the framework of the CCP are operational in 48 countries; funding for seven additional countries in total has been granted by the donors of this joint UNODC-WCO programme.

The implementation of the Container Control Programme in Oman is funded by the US Department of State - Export Control and Related Border Security Program (EXBS).