Organization Arrangement

 

On the 19 May 2022 at the 23rd Regional Heads of Customs Administrations Conference for the Asia/Pacific Region, the Commissioner of the Australian Border Force (ABF), Mr Michael Outram APM was endorsed as nominee for the World Customs Organization (WCO) Asia/Pacific Regional Vice-Chair for July 2022 to June 2024.

Subsequently, ABF Commissioner Outram was officially confirmed in the role of the WCO A/P Regional Vice-Chair at the 139th/140th sessions of the WCO Council in Brussels, Belgium on Saturday 25 June 2022. Following formal proceedings and the handover ceremony with Indonesia’s Director-General of Customs and Excise, Mr Askolani, the Australian Border Force assumed responsibility for secretariat duties and the Office of the WCO A/P Regional Vice-Chair.

ABF Commissioner Outram is supported in his role as the WCO A/P Regional Vice-Chair by senior staff of his executive, the Secretariat of the WCO A/P Regional Vice Chair and the Office of the Secretariat, including:

  • Deputy Comptroller-General of Customs, Ms Vanessa Holben;
  • Secretariat of the WCO A/P Regional Vice-Chair and Assistant Secretary of Trade and Customs Policy Branch (ABF), Ms Kimberlee Stamatis; and
  • The Office of the Secretariat – headed by Director of WCO and Customs Partnerships Section (ABF), Mr David Zeine, who is supported by a staff of dedicated officers focused on supporting the Secretariat and Office of the WCO A/P Regional Vice-Chair.

To get in contact with the Secretariat and Office of the WCO A/P Regional Vice-Chair, please direct your correspondence via email to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

About Us

Welcome to WCO Asia/ Pacific Website

The World Customs Organization (WCO) is an independent, intergovernmental, world-wide body competent in Customs matters and has a mission to enhance the effectiveness and efficiency of Customs administrations.With a growing world wide membership the WCO has divided its membership into six regions.  Each of the six regions is represented by a regionally elected Vice-Chairperson to the WCO Council. This regional structure was established to provide practical assistance in order to:

  • Ensure the permanent presence of the WCO in each region of the world; 
  • Ensure that the WCO is kept informed of regional interests; 
  • Promote greater involvement of members in WCO activities; 
  • Encourage non-members to join the WCO; 
  • Establish close cooperation with regional organisations working in the Customs field; and
  • Promote cooperation between members in each region.

There are currently 33 WCO members in the Asia/Pacific Region:

 

SUB-REGION MEMBERS TOTAL MEMBERS
Sub-Continent Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, I.R.Iran, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka 9
Far East P.R.China, Hong Kong China, Macao China, Mongolia, Japan, Korea 6
ASEAN Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Lao P.D.R., Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Viet Nam 10
Australasia / Oceania Australia, Fiji, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Timor-Leste, Tonga, Vanuatu 8
TOTAL 33

 

 In addition to attending the annual WCO Council Session in Brussels, Belgium, the WCO members from the Asia/Pacific Region meet annually to develop regional positions on WCO issues and decide on the regional representation to the WCO. 


Role of Vice-Chair

The Region is represented by a Regional Vice-Chair. The role of the Regional Vice-Chair is to:

  • Identify regional requirements in respect of WCO activities;
  • Identify potential facilities and support for such facilities;
  • Assist in making arrangements for seminars, training sessions etc.;
  • Obtaining the views of Members in the region for presentation at Policy Commission meetings;
  • As appropriate, represent the WCO at meetings of international bodies in the region; and 
  • Arrange periodic regional meetings to foster WCO activities and hold discussions on subjects of common interest to members in the region.

The Far East, South and South East Asia, Australasia and the Pacific Islands Region of the World Customs Organization is composed of the following members:

Afghanistan, Australia, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, China, Fiji, Hong Kong China, India, Indonesia, Islamic Republic of Iran, Japan, Republic of Korea, Lao People's Democratic Republic, Macao China, Malaysia, Maldives, Mongolia, Myanmar, Nepal, New Zealand, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Samoa, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Timor-Leste, Kingdom of Tonga, Vanuatu and Vietnam.

The current Regional Vice-Chair is Australia.

The current regional representatives at Policy Commission meetings are India, Islamic Republic of Iran, Japan, Korea, New Zealand and China.

The Region is represented at WCO Finance Committee meetings by four elected regional members. The current regional members of the Finance Committee are China, India, Japan & Korea.

The Regional representatives at WCO Audit Committee are Bangladesh and Indonesia.

The delegates of all regional members are able to attend Customs WCO Council Sessions.


Regional Meetings

Meeting of Regional Contact Points

The nominated contacts for each administration in the region meet at least once a year (usually in October) to discuss and exchange opinions on matters of common interest.

Regional Conference of Heads of Administrations

The Regional Conference is hosted by the Regional Vice-Chairman (usually biennially). It is attended by the Directors-General of regional customs administrations and sets the region's direction for the following two years.

 

List of recent Vice-Chairs for the WCO Asia/Pacific Region

TENURE COUNTRY
1990 - 1992 Korea
1992 - 1994 Japan
1994 - 1996 Malaysia
1996 - 1998 India
1998 - 2000 Australia
2000 - 2002 Hong Kong, China
2002 - 2004 New Zealand
2004 - 2006 China
2006 - 2008 India
2008 - 2010 Republic of Korea
2010 - 2012 Thailand
2012 - 2014 Australia
2014 - 2016 Malaysia
2016 - 2018 Fiji
2018 - 2020 India
2020 - 2022 Indonesia
2022 - 2024 Australia

 

List of the venues for recent RCP meetings

CONFERENCES VENUE YEAR
18th RCP Meeting Seoul, Korea 2008
19th RCP Meeting Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia 2009
20th RCP Meeting Bangkok, Thailand 2010
21st RCP Meeting Brisbane, Australia 2011
22nd RCP Meeting Adelaide, Australia 2012
23rd RCP Meeting Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia 2013
24th RCP Meeting Langkawi Island, Malaysia 2014
25th RCP Meeting Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia 2015
26th RCP Meeting Sigatoka, Fiji 2016
27th RCP Meeting Cairns, Australia 2017
28th RCP Meeting Jaipur, India 2018
29th RCP Meeting Puducherry, India 2019
30th RCP Meeting Jakarta, Indonesia (online) 2020
31st RCP Meeting Jakarta, Indonesia (online) 2021


List of the venues for recent RHCA conferences 

CONFERENCES VENUE YEAR
12th RHCA Conference India 2008
13th RHCA Conference South Korea 2010
14th RHCA Conference Thailand 2012
15th RHCA Conference Australia 2014
16th RHCA Conference Australia 2015
17th RHCA Conference Malaysia 2016
18th RHCA Conference Fiji 2017
19th RHCA Conference Sigatoka, Fiji 2018
20th RHCA Conference Cochin, India 2019

21st RHCA Conference

(Joint Session with the 30th RCP Meeting)

Jakarta, Indonesia (online) 2020
22nd RHCA Conference Jakarta, Indonesia (online) 2021
23rd RHCA Conference Bali, Indonesia (hybrid) 2022