On 13 March 2025, a wrap up session on the results achieved so far under the WCO Asia-Pacific Regional Data/Intelligence Professionals Programme was held at the WCO Regional Intelligence Liaison Office for Asia and the Pacific (RILO A/P) in Tokyo, Japan.
The event gave each participant the opportunity to share the knowledge they had acquired through the Programme and the recommendations they would like to make to their respective home administrations through their report.
This brand new WCO initiative is being implemented in cooperation with Japan Customs and the RILO A/P. It aims to provide selected participants with an opportunity to deepen their understanding of practical risk management processes for combating illicit trade in the region, as well as to gain the necessary skills, in their capacity as data/intelligence analysts, through a combination of online WCO training and on-the-job training at the RILO A/P.
The Programme started in January 2025, thanks to the financial support of the Customs Cooperation Fund of Japan (CCF/Japan), with the participation of the first batch of three Customs officials from Members in the WCO Asia/Pacific (A/P region), namely Cambodia, Indonesia and Thailand.
Through the one-week WCO online training course, the three officials not only gained knowledge about the Customs Enforcement Network (CEN) applications but also developed the necessary practical skills for data analysis and data visualization. Then, they went to Japan to spend four weeks, in February/March 2025, at the RILO A/P, where they could build up their experience of a wide range of intelligence work, including (i) issuing alert messages to inform Members of emerging smuggling trends, (ii) learning about open-source intelligence (OSINT), and (iii) mastering how best to coordinate processes during regional operations.
The three participants have now returned to their home administrations determined to maintain a strong partnership with the RILO A/P, and to contribute to the region’s intelligence network.
For more information about the WCO Asia-Pacific Regional Data/Intelligence Professionals Programme, please contact us at: cis@wcoomd.org