Deputy General Director Vu Ngoc Anh welcomes WCO expert

The scence at the meeting. Photo: H.Nụ

On behalf of the WCO, Mr. Terry Wall thanked Vietnam Customs for the coordination with Vietnam in recent years that has contributed to the completion of the Security Project for Asia Pacific Region (Project).

Furthermore, Mr. Wall said that the project was established by WCO and sponsored by the Japanese Government in order to strengthen the capacity of the customs authorities in nine Southeast Asian countries for addressing the threat of security.

The project was launched in April 2017, with the main mission of raising regional awareness on the role of customs in resolving these threats. Accordingly, in the scope of the project, two workshops were held in July and October 2017; they were, ‘Regional Workshop about Arms in Melbourne’ (Australia) and ‘Regional Workshop on Passenger Controls’ and ‘Programme Global Shield in Bangkok’ (Thailand), and Vietnam Customs actively participated in the above workshops, Mr. Wall stressed.

Additionally, Mr. Wall said that although the Project concentrates on the enforcement of terrorist groups, in order to achieve effectiveness, the project also focuses on 3 issues: Transporting arms via airport and land; developing chemicals to create explosives, and control of passengers on exit and entry of countries via border gates.

Therefore, in future, the WCO will conduct training on security issues; support equipment and facilities, and security training and exercises for customs authorities.

Speaking at the meeting, Deputy Director General Vu Ngoc Anh said that, although the political security situation in Vietnam in recent years is relatively safe, the security situation of neighboring countries in the region could affect and create a threat to Vietnam. These are also early warning signs for Vietnam to have more effective security controls. In particular, the transport of weapons and chemicals are more sophisticated and is a top concern for Vietnam Customs.

Deputy General Director Vu Ngoc Anh expected that the WCO would have activities to strengthen the capacity and skills in order to deal with dangerous situations for Vietnam Customs. At the same time, Vietnam Customs also wants to contribute its practical experiences to complete the project.