From 22 to 27 April 2018, the WCO conducted a Pre-Accreditation Workshop on the Single Window Environment in the WCO Regional Training Centre on Gulangyu Island, People’s Republic of China, with the support of the Chinese Customs Co-operation Fund (CCF/China).

The demand from WCO Members for capacity building in the area of Single Window implementation has increased, especially as many Members are outsourcing work to private consultancy companies to leverage private sector efficiencies related to automation of business processes.

The WCO plays a guiding role and strives to strengthen Member’s activities and improve their understanding and management of projects in the area of the Single Window environment, not only to foster the movement of goods across borders but also to enhance the security of cross-border transactions.

The main objective of this Pre-Accreditation Workshop was to enhance the network of Technical and Operational Advisers (TOAs), by identifying experts with experience in different areas of Single Window implementation and systems operation, as well as experts with vast knowledge of international standards such as WCO and United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) tools and instruments.

In total, eleven experts from nine Customs administrations in the WCO’s Asia/Pacific Region (Bangladesh, China, Fiji, Indonesia, Maldives, Malaysia, Mongolia, Korea, Pakistan) participated in the Accreditation workshop. Six of the eleven participating experts were pre-selected as potential TOAs.

Once experts have completed the full accreditation process, they are expected to play a key role in assisting administrations having embarked on Customs reform and modernization programmes, especially in relation to automation of processes focused on building the Single Window environment.

For further information, please contact facilitation@wcoomd.org.