6 – 8 February, 2024, Tokyo, Japan

The official opening of the Regional Intelligence Liaison Office (RILO) Asia/Pacific followed by a two-day High-level Roundtable were held in Tokyo, Japan from 6 to 8 February 2024. These events gathered over 150 participants, including Heads of Member Customs Administrations from Asia and the Pacific, Global RILO Network partners, international partner organizations and stakeholders from the private sector. At the invitation of RILO A/P, Ms. Zhengqing YE, the Program Manager and Operation Manager of the CCF-China joined the events.

The ceremony started with video addresses by the Prime Minister of Japan, Fumio Kishida and the WCO Secretary General Ian Saunders. Both of them reaffirmed the great contributions and its success in supporting Member administrations in enhancing intelligence analysis especially in fight against the illicit trade across the globe. They also shared their expectations of the new RILO A/P office and were confident that the new office would further guide enforcement actions and bolster collaborative efforts.

Following the opening ceremony, all delegates were invited to join a high-level roundtable focusing on the Enhancement of Data/Intelligence Analysis and Cooperation Networks. During the Session 5 Expectation of RILOs as WCO Regional bodies, the representatives of the ROCB A/P expressed the commitment to enhance the sound cooperation between ROCB A/P and RILO A/P and make more contributions for the AP Members.

During the 2 day roundtable, many important topics were discussed such as Risk management and Intelligence analysis, Expansion of regional Intelligence network, Intelligence exchange among Customs and recent trend, Advanced Technology Research for border Enforcement and expectation to new RILO A/P office. Delegates emphasized the importance of further enhance the cooperative relationship among all the stakeholders for intelligence sharing and improve the analytical capabilities.

The events marked a significant step forward in strengthening international cooperation and collective efforts to combat illicit trade in the Asia/Pacific region.

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