General Administration of China Customs (GACC) organised and hosted the “Connectivity and Win-Win Development Forum for Heads of Customs along the Belt and Road” in Xi’an, Sha’anxi Province, China on 27 and 28 May 2015. The event was attended by more than 60 countries, international organisations, regional institutions and business representatives.

The 125th/126th Annual Sessions of the WCO  Council was held  in Brussels from 11^th  to 13^th  June,  2015.  Mr. Zouhair Chorfi, the Director General of the Moroccan Customs Administration, chaired the session which was participated by Directors Generals of Customs representing 180 Members of the WCO.

In response to Members in the Asia/Pacific region’s growing concern over counterfeiting and piracy, a WCO Regional Workshop for Asia/Pacific Region Combating Counterfeiting and Piracy was held at the Berjaya Hotel Times Square in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia from 20^th  - 22^nd April, 2015.

The Concept Note of Project Customs Anti-Drug Strategy (CADS) provides that the WCO Vice-Chair for the Asia/Pacific region should report the activities of Project CADS to the WCO Enforcement Committee meeting which is held annually.

Royal Malaysian Customs Department (RMCD) in her capacity as the WCO Vice-Chair for the Asia/Pacific region and Hong Kong Customs co-hosted the 1^st Meeting of Regional Anti-Drug Expert Group (RAEG) under Project Customs Anti-drug Strategy (CADS) in Hong Kong, China from 5^th – 6^th March, 2015.

WCO/UNEP organized a workshop on Joint Regional Risk Management: Preventing Illegal Trade In Environmentally Regulated Goods from 6^th to 10^th April 2015. The course was conducted at the Royal Malaysian Customs Academy (AKMAL) and funded by CCF/Korea.

The 16th World Customs Organization (WCO) Asia/Pacific Regional Heads of Customs Administration (RHCA) Conference was held in Melbourne, Australia on 6^th February, 2015.  For the Asia/Pacific region, the 16^th RHCA Conference was the first regional heads conference to be held annually...

The Deputy Director General of Customs (Management), Dato’ Abdul Rahman Bin Othman was re-elected as the Vice-Chair for the WCO Capacity Building Committee during the last 6th Session of the committee in February, 2015. Dato’ Abdul Rahman was first elected as the Vice-Chair of the CBC during the 5th CBC session in March, 2014.

A WCO accreditation workshop for English-speaking Technical Operational Advisors in the area of Authorized Economic Operator (AEO) implementation was held at the Royal Malaysian Customs Academy (AKMAL) in Melaka from 10^th to 14^th November, 2014.  The workshop was attended by 14 selected participants from 10 Members the Asia/Pacific region and funded by Customs Cooperation Fund (CCF) Japan.

A ten-day workshop on leadership and management development has been held for the senior level staff of the Maldives Customs Service. The workshop was conducted from 5 to 16 April, and was participated by 20 officers from the Senior Operation Management Team.

Customs marked major milestone achievement in the first quarter of 2015, where it launched two services, namely pre-arrival declaration service. The service was officially inaugurated during the special ceremony held to mark this year’s International Customs Day, by the chief guest Minister of Tourism Honorable Ahmed Adeeb.

The WCO 72^nd Session of the Policy Commission was held at Instituto Ricardo Brennand, Recife, Brazil from 8^th to 10^th December 2014. Twenty eight countries, 3 observers and also the Private Sector Consultative Group (PSCG) members attended the Meeting. The Asia-Pacific Region was represented by Malaysia (WCO Asia-Pacific Vice-Chair), India, Japan, Korea (Republic of), Singapore, Thailand and Australia (Chairperson of the Audit Committee). The Meeting was chaired by the Chairperson of the Council, Mr. Zouhair Chorfi from Morocco.