WCO PICARD Conference 2013

The 8th WCO PICARD Conference took place from 18 to 20 September 2013 in St Petersburg, Russia. It was attended by a record number of nearly 250  delegates. The annual PICARD Conference is a joint initiative of the WCO and  INCU, and this year’s conference was jointly organised by the WCO and the  International Business and Law Institute of the National Research University  ITMO, Russian Federation, with support from the International Network of Customs  Universities (INCU) and the Customs Administration of Russian Federation. 

The Conference was opened by Prof. Elena Bogdanova, Director of the International  Business and Law Institute of ITMO, Mr. Kokorev, Chairman of the Board of the   “International Center of External Economic Activities Development CADUCEUS”  Fund, Mr. Komlichenko, Deputy Director General, Russian Customs, and the  Secretary General of the WCO, Mr. Kunio Mikuriya.

The  Conference focused on three topics: the WCO Economic Competitiveness Package;  the impact on Customs of various regional integration initiatives; and enhancing  professionalism in Customs, that is to say how to operationalize the PICARD 2020  Strategic Document. During the Conference, presentations on high-quality research outcomes, panel discussions and workshops were organized, leading to  intensive interaction with and among the participants.

In his opening address and  his various contributions on the three Conference topics, Secretary General  Mikuriya welcomed the input by academia and the exchange of ideas and experience  under the WCO PICARD umbrella, which would be taken into account in the WCO’s policy discussions. In this context, he encouraged participants to invest in  even more research in support of Customs’ decision-making processes. He  expressed the WCO’s determination to remain agile to the changing global trade  landscape, and to keep WCO instruments relevant in support of economic  competitiveness. He also highlighted the critical role played by Customs in  regional co-operation and integration initiatives and the necessity to enhance  Customs capacity building in respect of professionalism.

As a new feature of the WCO  PICARD Conference, the host university organized a half-day Youth Forum  immediately after the Conference. It brought together students from various  universities who held lively discussions with Conference speakers and participants on topics raised during the Conference, as well as on future career  possibilities in Customs and in the international arena.

Conference  Reports : Coming Soon

Conference  Porgramme :  English

 Presentation of the Chairs, Moderators and Speakers: http://www.wcoomd.org/en/events/event-history/

 Presentations delivered at the 2013 PICARD Conference

INCU News