Welcoming Speech In The WCO Regional Workshop On Non-Intrusive Inspection (NII) Image Analysis

 

Welcoming Speech In The WCO Regional Workshop  On Non-Intrusive Inspection (NII) Image Analysis

Distinguished Guests and Participants,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

1. Good Morning. A very warm welcome and Selamat Datang to Kuala Lumpur, the capital city of Malaysia.

2. First of all,  I would like to thank the organizers of this workshop for choosing Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia as the place for the WCO Regional Workshop on Non-Intrusive Inspection (NII) Image Analysis. I hope delegates who have never had the opportunity to visit Malaysia will take the time to explore Kuala Lumpur and to see what capital city has to offer.

3. Approximately 38 participants from different customs administrations will be attending this non-intrusive inspection equipment workshop. This workshop has been designed for sharing of experiences amongst Customs Officers, whether at policy, technical or operational level involved and responsible for scanner operations.

4. As has been constantly highlighted by the WCO’s Secretary General, Mr Kunio Mikuriya, Customs is committed to provide safe and secure international trade by using management techniques such as risk management and latest inspection techniques. Enhanced communications and operational procedures not only improve border security, but also allows border agencies to facilitate trade more effectively, thus enabling faster economic growth. In is a known and proven fact that Congestion and delays at the ports of entry cause significant loss in income, produc­tivity, and business opportunity.

5. With the evolvement of Customs function from its traditional role as a Revenue Collecting Agency to a facilitator in providing secured legitimate trade, Customs administrations needs to embraced modern technologies to ensure better border management and freer flow of trade. Deployment of inspection technologies as an integral part of Customs Risk Management strategies as measures to counter issues such as trade security and terrorism has become a necessity and strategically important.

6. As such, the experience and knowledge harnessed from this workshop on fully utilising non-intrusive tools such as the scanner machines will enable customs administration to strengthen border integrity and facilitate legitimate trade without compromising security and reduce fear of threats that could disrupt global trade, harm economies, and endanger the health and safety of people around the world.  For this very reason, many economies in the world have embraced technology, specifically non-intrusive equipments as part of its government transformation plan towards providing a free secured flow of legitimate trade and enhance its competitiveness in the international trade. To ensure compliance, it is imperative that Customs Administrations use modern inspection technologies as part of the risk management system to enable Customs to be more efficient and effective.

7. I believe that this workshop will be examining the implementation issues of the available and latest NII technologies and image analysis.  I am confident that participants present today, with their experience and competency will not only bring along wealth of experience in the field of image analysing to be shared but will also be able to acquire knowledge, experience and sharing of best practices. With guidance from the speaker and facilitator, I am confident that you will have a very fruitful workshop.

8. On that note, I am proud to once again welcome all guest, speakers and participants to the WCO Regional Workshop on Non-Intrusive Inspection (NII) Image Analysis at Renaissance Marriott Hotel, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Thank you