JAKARTA, 9 October 2020 – The Indonesian Directorate General of Customs and Excise hosted the Fourth Joint Customs Middle-Management Programme (4th JCMMP) on 6-7 October. Representatives from eight ASEAN Member States and Australia attended the two-day virtual event, dubbed as the networking platform for future customs leaders in the region.
The event promoted knowledge and experience sharing on handling emerging issues in the region, and strengthening the relationships of ASEAN Customs administrations’ middle-management level officers.
Participants discussed various topical issues, such as (i) lessons-learned from the COVID-19 outbreak, (ii) coordinated border management, (iii) eradicating drugs smuggling, (iv) managing illicit trade in waste and other environmentally sensitive commodities, (v) risk management, (vi) cooperation between Customs and Tax Authorities, and (vii) establishment of effective joint border protection to combat transnational organised crime.
Indonesia’s Director General of Customs and Excise Heru Pambudi stated that, as the current Vice-Chair of the World Customs Organisation for Asia Pacific, Indonesia remains committed to promote cooperation and partnership among middle-management level officers in the region.
He asserted that JCMMP would become a flagship programme and an example for other blocs and regions in the world in preparing future customs leaders.
On the last day of the programme, participants participated in a fireside-chat session with the Directors-General of Customs attending the event. They exchanged views on post-pandemic challenges, technology leverage, collaboration across borders, and strengthening the Asia-Pacific engagements in multilateral forums.
The fifth edition of the programme is scheduled to be in 2021 in Australia.
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