The World Customs Organization Tech Conference 2023 in Ha Noi, Vietnam, concluded on October 12th, with further informational talks and networking aimed at accelerating customs innovation.
As on the previous day, we began bright and early with a series of 10-minute “Tech Talks” on key themes. These included insights on the public sector from the Tanzania Revenue Authority and Abu Dhabi Customs; and analysis by private entities Avalara and Strategy Object.
Next came three plenary panel discussions:
- “Fostering Innovation Through Collaboration,” featuring Daisy Dai of Nuctech; Louise Wiggett of Customs Connect; Brightwell S. Nkambule of the Eswatini Revenue Service; and Trevor Francis of the UK Border Force.
- “Scaling up for Efficiencies in Trade Facilitation, Safety and Security,” with Trung Nguyen of CyStack and Nam Long Pham of Abivin; and
- “Customs of the Future: Transforming the Workplace with the Use of Data and Technology,” with Philippe Duponteil, Director at the EU Directorate General Taxation and Customs Union; Junho Lee of Korea Customs Service; Vishesh Kalia of PwC; and Fayez Maarrawi of DP World.
In the first of these panels, Trevor Francis gave a concise and compelling introduction to PEN-CP, which provided the thousands of conference participants both in person and online with PEN-CP’s purpose, participants and success stories so far. Questions during and after the session showed that Trevor’s presentation sparked plenty of creative thinking about how to strengthen the customs network and accelerate technological innovation.
The conference closed with remarks by Nguyen Van Tho, Deputy Director of Vietnam Customs, and by Hans Pieters, Head of Administration and Personnel at the WCO, who ably summed up the achievements of the last 3 days, and WCO’s aims for the future. Pieters also made the much-anticipated announcement that next year’s WCO Technology Conference & Exhibition will be hosted by the Government of Egypt.
All in all, it was a fruitful and memorable three days in Ha Noi. For PEN-CP, it was a terrific opportunity to gain new adherents and spread the message of customs technological advancement through interdisciplinary cooperation and networking — precisely what the WCO Technology Conference & Exhibition is all about.
Full details of sessions and participants are here
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