Developing a Pool of Experts The Second Working Group activity of the WCO Master Trainer Program on Risk Management for Central Asia and the Caucasus
Under the auspices of the WCO/JICA (Japan International Cooperation Agency) Joint Project, the World Customs Organization (WCO) held the second working group activity (WG2) of the Master Trainer Programme (MTP) on risk management for Customs administrations in Central Asia and the Caucasus. This event was hosted by the State Revenue Committee (SRC), Ministry of Finance of Kazakhstan and was held from 3 to 7 February 2025 in Astana, Kazakhstan.
Sixteen (16) working group members, nominated by eight Customs administrations in CAC, namely Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan, gathered for WG2 just like in WG1, which was held in September 2024. The opening ceremony was attended by Ms. Botagoz Abilova, Head of the WCO Regional Training Center in Kazakhstan, representing the SRC, Mr. Satoshi Tsuji, Project Formulation Advisor of the JICA Kazakhstan Field Office and Mr. Alisher Bazarbayev, Senior Manager of the Department of Partnerships and Regional Projects, Kazakhstan Agency of International Development (KazAID). Ms. Botagoz Abilova and Mr. Satoshi Tsuji expressed strong expectations concerning the development of the Trans-Caspian Transport corridor, where strong risk management is crucial to handling the new transportation and logistics situation effectively.
During the second WG activity, the working group members acquired methods and skills/techniques to develop and deliver capacity-building activities through Training of Trainer (ToT) sessions while continuously strengthening their expertise in risk management. The participants also took the tailored lectures given by WCO and Japan Customs experts on risk management-specific topics identified as challenges at the first working group activity and actively discussed them. At the end of the WG2, the WG members developed a work plan to achieve the goal of the MTP.
Looking ahead, the third WG activity is anticipated to take place from 14 to 18 April 2025 in Tbilisi, Georgia. Until the third WG, the working group members will engage in intersessional activities, such as maintaining and improving their own knowledge, taking an eLearning course and attending relevant WCO conferences.
The MTP aims to develop self-sustainable and autonomous training capacity by creating a pool of experienced trainers and developing regional training materials for these trainers. To achieve that objective, the nominated MTP working group members participate in five progressive WG and intersessional activities over two or three years. Upon the completion of the MTP, the Master Trainers (MTs) are expected to deliver training programmes for Customs administrations in their respective countries and other WCO Members of their region. To date, 210 MTs in African countries and the Pacific Islands have been trained 57,000 people, making the MTs assets of the entire Customs community.
