Vietnam Customs Promoting Cooperation with JICA

At the meeting, General Director Can thanked Mr Kotaro Taniguchi and Japanese experts for visiting and working with the General Department of Vietnam Customs. JICA and Japanese Customs Bureau have provided substantial and effective support for the cause of customs modernisation in Vietnam since 1997, especially for human resources training and development and information technology construction and development to serve commodity clearance and customs management. JICA’s non-refundable technical assistance projects have been continuously implemented in most professional fields from HS value, post-clearance check, risk management, intelligence analysis to border-gate official empowerment. Nearly 8,000 customs staff were trained by Japanese experts in the framework of JICA-funded projects.

 

Non-refundable container scanner assistance projects in Ho Chi Minh City and Hai Phong City will help Vietnam’s customs sector access modern customs controlling devices and speed up the progress of equipment purchases by the customs sector of Vietnam. This is the groundwork and driving force for the Vietnamese customs sector to speed up customs reform and modernisation to meet the Government’s requirements.

 

The General Department of Vietnam Customs was assigned by the Government of Vietnam to lead and advise on the implementation of regulations and commitments of the National Single Window (NSW) and ASEAN Single Window (ASW). Besides, the General Department will carry out the second phase of VNACCS/VCIS automated customs clearance system and focus on strengthening control against smuggling, trade fraud, drug and weapon trafficking, and intellectual property rights protection.

 

General Director Can hoped that JICA will provide continued support and priority for the Vietnamese customs sector’s objectives, particularly in upgrading, expanding and developing the second phase of the VNACCS/VCIS system, training and developing human resources, and equipping control devices. Before the request from the General Department of Vietnam Customs, Mr Kotaro Taniguchi said that experts from JICA and Japan Customs Bureau will further coordinate with the Vietnam Customs to assess VNACCS/VCIS update requests to soon learn about action plans for the next stage. He recognised requests to control equipment support for the trafficking fight conducted by the General Department of Vietnam Customs and pledged to forward them to JICA in Japan.