Bandung, Indonesia – Over the last two weeks, Customs and other government officials from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) participated in two week-long training courses focused on building the capacity of ASEAN Member States (AMS) in strategic trade management (STM). Each week-long event provided the opportunity for government officials from a range of agencies involved in trade to understand best practices in STM and how these overlap with trade facilitation initiatives, such as single windows. The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) sponsored this event in partnership with ASEAN.

A delegation of 17 senior Cambodian officials led by His Excellency Chanmeta KAN, the Under Secretary of State, Ministry of Commerce Cambodia made a visit to Malaysia on 25-26 March 2013. The delegation comprised of officials from Cambodia’s various Government agencies including the General Department of Customs and Excise, Ministry of Economy and Finance, Ministry Of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, Ministry of Health, Ministry of Public Works and Transport, Ministry of Industry, Mines and Energy, Sihannoukville Autonomous Port and others. Three World Bank officers involved in the funding and assisting Cambodia’s National Single Window (NSW) development were also part of the delegation.

Four months after rolling out President Aquino’s reform program for the Bureau of Customs, emerging cash collections by the agency for the months of November 2013 to January 2014 registered a 19.26% growth rate over the comparable period in 2012 to 2013. This is a significant improvement from the pre-reform period growth of 4.76% in January 2013 to October 2013.

THE ASSOCIATION of Southeast Asian Nations recently moved a step closer towards regional integration with the formal launch of the ASW Web Portal, the official website containing information on the development and progress of the ASEAN Single Window project and National Single Windows of members of the group.

THE ASSOCIATION of Southeast Asian Nations recently moved a step closer towards regional integration with the formal launch of the ASW Web Portal, the official website containing information on the development and progress of the ASEAN Single Window project and National Single Windows of members of the group.