OSCE Centre in Bishkek trains customs officers on risk management and auditing

The OSCE Centre in Bishkek in joint co-operation with the Customs Service of Latvia on 19 September 2014 completed two weeks of a train-the-trainers programme for customs officers from Kyrgyzstan on risk management and auditing. 

During the first week of the training course, Baiba Trukšāne, an expert from the Customs Service of Latvia mentored seven instructors on how to present and deliver training courses on risk management and auditing. In the second week, the newly-trained instructors trained customs officers in the field themselves. 

In preparation for the course, the Customs Service of Latvia, using World Customs Organization standards, evaluated the current risk management in the Kyrgyz State Customs Services, Manas airport customs, and the rail and highway customs services. The expert developed a risk management implementation plan, a methodology and training materials.

“This type of training and co-operation is an example of how OSCE participating States can share experience and best practices as part of the OSCE’s comprehensive approach to security,” said John MacGregor, Deputy Head of the OSCE Centre in Bishkek. “The OSCE Centre in Bishkek is delighted to be able to assist in bringing together representatives of the Customs Service of Latvia  and the Kyrgyz Customs Service in order to engage in this important work.”

The risk management and audit course is  part of an OSCE project to build the capacity of customs officers in Kyrgyzstan and Afghanistan. One of the objectives of this project is to create a single sustainable training programme of the State Customs Service Training Centre.