Vietnam Customs attends Asia-Pacific regional intelligence liaison meeting

Delegates took a group photo.

Enhance cooperation and information exchange

The conference took place in face-to-face and online format, with the participation of more than 100 delegates, including 51 delegates directly from the Asia-Pacific regional intelligence liaison office (RILO AP), RILO offices from other regions, customs authority of member countries, international organizations UNODC, INCB, ROCAP.

The main content focused on assessing the activities of the RILO AP and the coordination of member countries in 2021 and the first eight months of 2022.

In particular, the delegates focused on evaluating the effectiveness of sharing customs intelligence, joint coordination projects on anti-smuggling and illegal transportation of drugs, wild animals and plants, tobacco, and other controlled items coordinated by the RILO AP Office; effective application of CEN and CENCOM technical tools, discuss orientations for control and coordination activities in 2023.

At the meeting, member countries shared their practices in intelligence and control work and made recommendations for coordination. In addition, RILO AP and its members discussed other related issues such as the change of the RILO AP Office after the end of its term in Korea and agreed on the venue for the 34th Administrative Meeting for National Contact Points of RILO AP - WCO.

The National Contact Points of RILO AP Meeting is considered the most important event in a year of RILO AP’s operation and the National Contact Points (NCPs) to create opportunities for effective bilateral and multilateral intelligence exchange and information exchange between member customs authorities in the region as well as with international law enforcement agencies.

Sharing experiences on cooperation against drug-related crimes and transnational crimes

At the conference, representatives of Vietnam Customs actively participated in discussions to make proposals to improve cooperation efficiency and share information on customs control.

A representative of Vietnam Customs attended the meeting.

Notably, a representative of Vietnam Customs presented an assessment of the results of drugs and wildlife control in Vietnam during the implementation of Operation Mekong Dragon IV (OMD 4). Simultaneously, analyzing transportation trends through project assessment and suggesting modes of coordination at regional and global levels.

Furthermore, the representative of Vietnam Customs said that the details about the arrests during the implementation of the Campaign were a valuable source of information for Vietnam Customs in analyzing and determining the key points and recent trends in drug-related crimes and wildlife crime. The campaign also marked the proactive spirit of cooperation of Vietnam Customs in the Customs community in the Asia Pacific region.

“The Operation Mekong Dragon IV campaign is co-initiated by Vietnam Customs and China Customs and continues to be highly appreciated and supported by RILO AP, UNODC and member customs. The campaign ended its action phase on September 15, 2022 and is in the process of a final evaluation. The summary conference is expected to be held in Vietnam," a representative of Vietnam Customs said.