6 September 2021, Online Workshop hosted by ROCB A/P

The WCO/JICA Joint Sub-Regional Launching Ceremony for Master Trainer Programme (MTP) for the Pacific Islands was held online on 6 September 2021. The Ceremony was organized by the WCO, JICA and ROCB A/P. The six Customs administrations in the Pacific region, namely Fiji, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Timor-Leste, Tonga, Vanuatu as well as the representatives from Oceania Customs Organization (OCO) Secretariat and Japan Customs attended the Ceremony. Mr. Noriakzu Kuramoto, Head, Ms. Yuko Mamiya, Program Manager, Ms. Jate-arpa Benjaphong, Program Coordinator, and Ms. Vareemon Chairungsrilert, Program Coordinator of the ROCB A/P, also attended as facilitators/coordinators for the Ceremony.

The MTP is a unique programme that takes a holistic approach to achieve the objective by combining activities relating to “Training of Trainers” and activities relating to the “development of materials/programme” to be utilized by Trainers taking into account the unique needs of Customs Administrations. In the wake of the tangible success of phase 1 of MTP which resulted in the pool of Master Trainers in the East African region, the WCO and JICA agreed to offer the MTP on Harmonized System classification and Customs Valuation for six WCO Members in the Pacific Islands as part of the WCO Small Island Economies initiative.

This online high-level launching ceremony was kicked off with opening remarks by Dr. Kunio Mikuriya, Secretary General of WCO, Mr. Toshiyuki Nakamura, Senior Vice President of JICA, and Mr. Wataru Sakata, Director General of Japan Customs. Dr. Mikuriya explained that the WCO and JICA agreed to launch the MTP for the Pacific Islands based on their needs and priorities which were recognized during Dr. Mikuriya’s visit to the Pacific Islands Economies. He emphasized that the creation of a pool of Customs experts in the Pacific region will enhance the human network in the Pacific region which will facilitate regional cooperation in sharing information and best practices.

During the ceremony, six Customs Administrations in the Pacific Islands and the OCO demonstrated their strong commitments to developing a pool of experts in the region for sustainable development of the Pacific Islands. Furthermore, the participants and the OCO Secretariat expressed their appreciation to the WCO, the JICA, Japan Customs and the ROCB A/P.

The ceremony concluded with the remarks of Mr. Ricardo Treviño Chapa, Deputy Secretary General. He highlighted that the strong commitments from six Customs Administrations, which are key to the success of the MTP, are well confirmed at this ceremony. He concluded his remarks by thanking the JICA, Japan Customs, Members of the Pacific Islands, the OCO and the ROCB A/P for their cooperation.

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