At the invitation of the Regional Intelligence Liaison Office (RILO) Asia/Pacific (A/P), the CCLEC JIO attended the ceremony held in Seoul, Korea on 6 2017 to mark the 30th Anniversary of the first RILO and the birth of the global RILO network. The JIO was one of 10 RILO’s to attend this ceremony.
The WCO Secretary General Kunio Mikuriya was present for this ceremony.

Following the welcome address by the Korea Customs Service Commissioner, Mr. Yung-Moon Kim, Secretary General Mikuriya delivered a congratulatory speech expressing his sincere appreciation to the past four host Administrations of the RILO A/P for their services, namely Hong Kong, China (1987-1998), Japan (1999-2003), China (2004-2011) and Korea (2012- present). He recognised the gradual evolution of the RILO A/P nurtured by the four Administrations: (i) foundation (Hong Kong, China); (ii) capacity building (Japan); (iii) operations (China); (iv) and networking (Korea) with all 33 WCO A/P

Security protection, health protection, and increased efficiency through advance cargo detection were just three of the primary benefits presented at the recently held meeting of the Advance Cargo Information System (ACIS) Implementation and Oversight Committee (IOC) in Barbados. The meeting which was held on October 17, 2017, represented both a collective and strategic approach by regional Customs administrations towards the implementation of an advance cargo information system which was conceptualized over a decade ago in harmony with the Advance Passenger Information System (APIS).

The committee which comprised representatives from Customs Administrations within CARICOM, along with overseeing entities, CARICOM IMPACS and CCLEC, engaged in the critical discussions over the one-day meeting, outlining the operations, opportunities, and objectives of the proposed project. Central to discussions were the benefits to be derived from a collective approach to implementing the ACIS project. These benefits stemmed essentially from the stability the Electronic Manifest Management ASYCUDA System (EMMAS), the robust platform for hosting the proposed ACIS.

By adopting a collective approach,  Customs Administrations are expected to see “data requirements minimized, harmonised and submission guaranteed through a single portal.” Added to this is “the opportunity to enhance cargo supply chain security through pre-arrival screening protocols and procedures to assess the level of risk and thus target shipments in a timely manner before their arrival or departure.” By contrast, the weaknesses of a singular approach would mean redundant investments in technology to adapt to country-specific needs and standards, as well as costs incurred through software licensing and operations.