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GDLN Story of the Week
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Cleared for Entry: Customs Officials in the Middle East and North Africa Discuss Customs Modernization Through GDLN
Posted January 17, 2005
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How can customs regulations protect national borders without interrupting the flow of traded goods? What are the checks and balances that help uncover smuggling and fraud? Nearly 80 customs officials, policy makers, and representatives of academic institutions, the media, and the private sector in Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, and Yemen discussed the improvement and enforcement of customs regulations in a series of GDLN videoconferences from September to November 2004.
Each of the three sessions dealt with a specific topic: the role of risk management in customs modernization; the role of customs in ensuring national security; and safety nets for detecting customs fraud, fiscal evasion, and smuggling. For the different sessions, participants connected with each other, with international experts in Canberra, Australia, and with World Bank Customs and Border Affairs advisors in Washington, London and Moscow to discuss experiences, case studies, and the latest research on effective customs regulations and procedures. Customs officials and policy makers in particular were able to deepen their knowledge and skills in the context of ongoing customs reforms in their countries.
The videoconference series was organized by the World Bank’s regional vice-presidency for the Middle East and North Africa, together with the World Bank Institute. It was developed in response to local demand, following up on a workshop held in Egypt in April 2004. Participants in that workshop included Egyptian government officials and experts from other countries in the region, and they requested additional learning events to help them improve the customs reform process in their countries.
For more information, please contact Alina Monica Mustra (mmustra@worldbank.org) or visit the training page from the  Global Facilitation Partnership for Transportation and Trade. |
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