The 13th session of the WCO Capacity Building Committee (CBC), under the theme "Towards a Thoughtful Adaptation in Customs: Building Successful Organizations in the “New Normal,” was held in hybrid format from 21 to 23 February 2022.

The meeting was attended by over 350 representatives of Member administrations, development partners, academia and other stakeholders.

In his opening address, the WCO Secretary General Dr. Kunio Mikuriya, outlined that such meeting process has become the ‘new normal’ under the current circumstances. He underscored that the active participation of Member administrations, partners, academia and other stakeholders had been the key to the successful preparation for this hybrid session.

The Secretary General emphasized the importance of a united approach in contributing to recovery from the crisis caused by COVID-19 pandemic by enhancing collaboration with partners and stakeholders in the public and private sector. Dr. Mikuriya found it vital to put “people” at the center of change for a resilient and sustainable organization ready to face the ongoing challenges to sustain recovery and renewal.

The 13th Session of CBC discussed and provided direction on a number of key issues, that included Business Models and Work Organization in the “New Normal”, optimal ways and modes of devising and delivering Capacity Building support to Members in the new realities and the lessons learned from two years of remote delivery, Navigating the “New Normal” with Technology and Data-Driven Decision Making, Gender Equality and Diversity, Expertise Mobilization and results from the Global meeting of regional entities, among others.

The Secretary General highly appreciated the contribution of a number of private sector representatives and members of the Private Sector Consultative Group (PSCG) to the panel discussions.

Mrs. Sigfríður Gunnlaugsdóttir, from Iceland Revenue and Customs, and Mrs. Li Yan, from China Customs, were re-elected as Chairperson and Vice-Chairperson, respectively, for the Committee session in 2023.

Information on the date and place for the Committee’s next session in 2023 will be given at a later stage.

For more information, please, contact capacity.building@wcoomd.org.