14 - 17 October, 2025, Hong Kong, China

The ROCB attended the 34th RCP meeting in Hong Kong, China, from October 14 to 17, 2025, organised by Hong Kong Customs and Excise Department, in its capacity as the Vice-Chair for the WCO Asia/Pacific (A/P) Region. The four-day meeting was attended by representatives from Customs Administrations of A/P Region.

The ROCB A/P delivered the presentations on the its policy and activities, and Regional Strategic Plan (RSP) Focus Area 3–Capacity Building.

Ms. Asuka Nagamatsu, Program Manager, introduced the outline of the ROCB, followed by Mr. Jun Tajima, Head of the ROCB A/P, who presented the results of the ROCB A/P’s questionnaire conducted during the Regional Heads of Customs Administration (RHCA) Conference in May 2025, along with the ROCB A/P’s analysis of the results and possible ways forward.

Mr. Tajima also emphasized that the ROCB A/P is committed to supporting Members who may face difficulties arising from the new procedures introduced under the new Capacity Building Paradigm. The ROCB Team talked with some delegates on these procedures so that the WCO’s support would be timely without delay. In addition, he encouraged Members to provide responses to the Annual Needs Survey and other information, such as WCO diagnostic reports, to enable the ROCB A/P to respond to their needs more effectively and efficiently.

Ms. Zhengqing Ye and Mr. Jaemin Cho, Program Managers shared implementation status of Focus Area 3 with all the members at the meeting. The Meeting also witnessed thematic issues in the Region, and noted presentations such as “Implementing the WTO-TFA and the Mercator Program of the WCO”, “E-Commerce Development Through Digital Innovation”, “Customs role in Anti-Money Laundering and Its Enforcement Strategy”, and “Non-Intrusive Inspection and AI-Enabled Image Analysis”.

This conference provided A/P members and regional entities with an important platform to discuss and review regional Customs policies, put forward proposals and keep updated of the latest Customs initiatives. These exchanges promote regional cooperation in response to rapidly changing global challenges. 

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