The World Customs Organization (WCO) underscored the importance of research, particularly into innovative areas of studies, to equip customs authorities with better tools to perform their work effectively and make informed decisions.
WCO Secretary General Kunio Mikuriya, in his speech at the recent 12th WCO Partnerships in Customs Academic Research and Development (PICARD) Conference held in Tunisia, said the WCO theme for the year focuses on data analysis, trade facilitation, security, and customs-tax cooperation.
As such, he said, “research activities and discussions on these topics, digging beyond Customs’ traditional mandate into areas such as geospatial data, biometrics, or other innovative areas greatly support the Customs community and its stakeholders in their daily work and in their decision-making processes.”
He added that the annual WCO PICARD conferences have made a positive impact on the work of customs since 2006, providing a platform for informed dialogue between customs administrations, universities, and research institutes on topics relevant to customs and international trade.
Mikuriya further said that “the interdisciplinary approach to research and policy analysis on Customs matters, international trade, and border management has become the hallmark of this annual WCO event, enriching both the discussions and participants alike.”
In his welcoming remarks, Tunisia’s Finance Minister Ridha Chalghoum underlined the importance of this conference for government and customs as a way to nurture the traditional customs approach and vision with new ideas, to support customs in its efforts to adequately address the current main challenges at borders, namely, terrorism, smuggling, organized crime, and corruption.
A keynote address on a research project entitled “Borders in Globalization Research” was delivered by Emmanuel Brunet-Jailly, professor at the University of Victoria (Canada) and editor of the Journal of Borderlands Studies, who outlined the concept of the exchange of trusted information at borders as a way of decreasing border risks, a topic which resonated with all conference participants.
Photo: West Midlands Police
