The Vice-Presidency of the Americas and Caribbean Region of the World Customs Organization (WCO), in collaboration with the WCO Regional Intelligence Liaison Office (RILO) South America, held a regional workshop on November 16 “Good Practices for the Control of Restricted or Prohibited Goods and the Importance of Information Sharing through the WCO CEN and CENcomm Platforms”".
The WCO announced today (04.12.2023), in a public statement, that the workshop provided an opportunity to share experiences in the effective control of the import and export of goods of regional interest. 134 Customs officials from 19 countries in the region and National Contact Points of the RILO regional network participated in this idea.
The words of opening were led by the Regional Vice President and Director of Compliance and Facilitation of the WCO, Pranab Kumar Das. This was followed by interventions by the President of the RILO Global Network 2023-2024 and Head of the WCO Regional Intelligence Liaison Office (RILO) for South America, Roy Díaz Orellana, and by the Head of the WCO RILO for Central America, Edwin Orlando Curtidor.
Then, the participants were able to listen expert presentations of the administrations of Customs of Argentina, Chile, Dominican Republic and Peru specific case studies, which highlighted various forms of illicit trafficking in drugs, chemical precursors, medicines and unauthorized pharmaceutical products, as well as the management of hazardous materials and waste. Emphasis was also placed on good customs intelligence practices for the effective detection of smuggling routes.
In this framework, the President of the RILO Global Network 2023-2024, Roy Díaz, and the Director of the CEN and CTS programme provided a comprehensive overview of the ways in which information exchange can be ensured through the use of WCO platforms.
According to the WCO, “the region showed a strong commitment to strengthen regional customs strategies and promote collaborative exchange of information for more efficient and coherent customs control, considering that the exchange of information and intelligence is one of the key pillars of the strategy to control and combat customs fraud.”
“By consolidating cooperation in risk management and intelligence among Customs administrations in the region, the event is fully in line with the Regional Strategic Plan 2022-2024 for the Americas and the Caribbean, as well as the WCO Strategic Plan 2022-2025,” the Organization added.
Aduana News is the first Argentine customs newspaper to launch its digital version. With 20 years of experience, its publications and initiatives aim to provide the most relevant knowledge on customs issues in order to contribute to safe trade in the region.
