1 September 2025, Bangkok, Thailand

Mr. James Ryan and Mr. Paul Schembri, the newly appointed Customs Attachés from the Australian Border Force (ABF), along with Mr. Banpot Denmetharat from the Australian Embassy in Thailand, paid a visit to the ROCB A/P on 1 September 2025. Mr. Jun Tajima, Head of the ROCB A/P and his team warmly welcomed them. The visit served to introduce both attachés to the work of the ROCB A/P and to further strengthen collaboration between the two important organisations in the area of capacity-building.

Mr. Tajima expressed his appreciation for the ABF’s continued support and provided a brief overview of the ROCB A/P, highlighting its role in supporting WCO’s capacity-building activities. He emphasized the importance of working closely with partner administrations like ABF in leveraging regional expertise, and showed his interest in exchanging information on capacity-building initiatives, particularly in ABF’s priority areas including tobacco and drug smuggling.

The meeting concluded with a shared commitment to deepen cooperation between the ABF and the ROCB A/P. Both sides showed their willingness to look for future collaborations to improve Customs capacity across the Asia-Pacific region.

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