Kashiwa, Japan, 13 November 2023 –The Specialised Training Course on Customs Human Resource Development (HRD) for the ASEAN Customs Capacity Building Working Group (CCBWG) was conducted in Kashiwa, Japan on 13 – 17 November 2023 with support from the Government of Japan through the Japan-ASEAN Integration Fund (JAIF).
The training will provide ASEAN customs officials with knowledge and skills on training policies, succession planning, career development, integrity in customs, and formulation of methodologies for training programmes.
The training was officiated by Mr. Shigetoshi Aoyama, Managing Director of Japan Customs Training Institute (CTI). He highlighted the importance of this Specialised Training during the celebration of the important year of the 50th anniversary of ASEAN-Japan Friendship and Cooperation. Amidst the fast-changing of customs environment, such as the increase in trade volume, the surge of cross-border e-commerce, the rise of various economic partnership agreements, and rapid changes in digitisation, it is essential to focus on the HRD aspect as the vital component in customs administrations to respond to those changes. He hoped that this training could provide the ASEAN participants with sufficient knowledge and skills that could be used to enhance the ASEAN Customs HRD.
Mr. Oentarto Wibowo, the World Customs Organization (WCO) Accredited Expert, stated in his Remarks that the training marks the collaborative efforts between ASEAN and Japan Customs to reaffirm the commitment to regional cooperation and shared development. He also stressed that this training represents a critical component in enhancing the capabilities of ASEAN Customs Officials to make them well-trained and knowledgeable to enable them to facilitate trade, ensure security, and promote economic growth through the exchange of expertise and experiences with Japan Customs. It is also expected that this training would provide the opportunity for the participants to create a network of Customs professionals that can support advancing customs HRD practices in ASEAN.
In a Keynote Speech, Mr. Cuong Ba Tran, the Assistant Director of the Trade Facilitation Division of the ASEAN Secretariat underscored the importance of Customs HRD in the ever-changing, vibrant, and complex world landscape, especially after the pandemic and amidst the development of new technologies such as blockchains, AI, big data, and cloud computing. He also underlined the vital role of Customs HRD officials, which needs to be more adaptive and responsive to the changing environment, where the HR Customs could play more role in developing strategy and supporting the career development of the whole Customs organization. With this training, the participants are expected to acquire the necessary knowledge and skills on HRD, so they can implement it in their customs administrations to improve the HRD aspect in their own context.