22-24 March 2021, Online Workshop

The WCO Asia/Pacific (AP) Regional Online Experience-Sharing Workshop on Disruptive Technologies was held from 22 to 24 March 2021. The Workshop was organized by WCO under the sponsorship of the China Customs Cooperation Fund (CCF/China). Together with the experts on Disruptive Technologies from the WCO, Mr. Norikazu Kuramoto, Head of the ROCB A/P, Ms. Yuko Mamiya, Program Manager of the ROCB A/P, Ms. Grace YE, Program Manager of the ROCB A/P, Ms. Pavida Boonmun, Assistant Program Manager of the ROCB A/P, Ms. Jate-arpa Benjaphong, Program Coordinator, and Ms. Pattarapak Nopnakeepong, Program Coordinator of the ROCB A/P, also joined as facilitators/coordinators for the Workshop.

The workshop brought together more than 50 participants from 17 AP Member administrations and speakers from Customs, the private sector, international organizations and academia to engage virtually and introduced the use of blockchain, artificial intelligence, machine learning, and the internet of things by exploring use cases and innovation projects.

Participants spent 3 days in discussing the issues including the role of public-private partnership, ways of supporting the data pipeline concept, use of technologies for enhanced risk management capabilities and automated threat detection, tracking solutions, and governance requirements. Discussions also focused on the usefulness of Blockchain technology which potentially improve transparency throughout the supply chain and reduce transaction costs. Participants also had an opportunity to contribute with their views and suggestions to polls and break-out session, the results of which will feed into the update of the WCO Study Report on Disruptive Technologies. Moreover, this Workshop provided a unique opportunity for information-sharing and cooperation between the public and private sectors with regard to disruptive technologies and innovations used by Customs administrations and other border agencies.

With an objective of sharing experiences and gathering input for the update of the WCO Study Report on Disruptive Technologies, the workshop was very well received by participants and raised a lot of interest and heated discussions. The participants expressed their appreciation to the WCO, the ROCB A/P and the Experts for their great support to the workshop.

For more information, please contact at rocb@rocbap.org.