13–15 October 2026, Macao, China

The 36th WCO Asia/Pacific Regional Contact Points (RCP) Meeting was held from 13 to 15 October 2026 in Macao, China. The meeting was organized by the Asia/Pacific Vice-Chair’s Office (Hong Kong Customs) and graciously hosted by the Macao Customs Service, bringing together delegates from Member administrations across the Asia/Pacific region, the WCO Secretariat and the region’s entities, including the Regional Office for Capacity Building (ROCB A/P), the Regional Intelligence Liaison Office (RILO A/P) and the Regional Private Sector Group (RPSG A/P), with online participation enabling wider engagement. Centered on the implementation of the Regional Strategic Plan (RSP) 2026–2028, the meeting reviewed progress across the four focus areas, received the reports of the Vice-Chair and the regional entities, exchanged views on the WCO’s new capacity building paradigm, Member Profiles and sustainable financing, and confirmed the focus area coordinators for the next RSP cycle (2028–2030).

ROCB A/P contributed actively throughout the meeting through three presentations and interventions from the floor. 

(1) In its report to the region, delivered under the message “Leverage ROCB A/P to achieve your policy priorities,” the ROCB A/P presented its three focus areas for 2026/27: (i) reinforcing the regional capacity-building cycle with the WCO, with greater emphasis on needs assessment at the planning stage and on follow-up and impact at the evaluation stage; (ii) improving communication and knowledge sharing in its role as the region’s capacity-building hub; and (iii) sharing continuous improvements in ROCB A/P’s output. 

The ROCB A/P also updated Members on the WCO accredited experts programme.

(2) In a dedicated session, the ROCB A/P introduced the Member Profile — an initiative endorsed at the RHCA Conference in May 2026 that replaces ROCB A/P’s annual needs survey and serves as the primary repository of Member-related information, covering policy priorities, challenges and achievements, implementation of WCO tools and instruments, and records of assistance.

(3) As co-coordinator of Focus Area 3 (Capacity Building) of the RSP 2026–2028, together with Japan Customs, ROCB A/P reported solid implementation progress to the meeting. 

The ROCB A/P delegation was led by the Head of the Office, Mr. Tajima and included the programme managers Mr. Deokjoong Kim, Mr. Takeru Yamazaki, and Ms. Shuchun Wan, covering capacity building programme management and regional coordination. 

On the margins of the meeting, ROCB A/P, together with the WCO Secretariat, held bilateral consultations with Cambodia and Viet Nam on their draft Member Support Roadmaps.

The meeting once again demonstrated ROCB A/P’s pivotal role as the region’s capacity building hub, translating the WCO’s impact-oriented paradigm into support that responds directly to Members’ needs and to the region’s expectations.

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