With the generous support of the Dominican Republic’s Dirección General De Aduanas (DGA) and the Australian Border Force (ABF), the WCO delivered a seminar for the Americas and Caribbean region in March 2025, the third in a series of dedicated, global seminars designed to enhance Member cooperation and promote new, collaborative alliances with the commercial air and sea cargo sectors.

Building resilient and more effective supply chains, whilst enhancing collaboration, is the underlying focus of the ABF/WCO Supply Chain Integrity (SCI) Project – an initiative that launched in early 2024 and is committed to providing new tools and resources for the Members of the WCO.

Held in Santo Domingo, the seminar brought together participants from 18 Customs administrations, and facilitators from the ABF, New Zealand Customs Service, the UNODC-WCO Passenger and Cargo Control Programme, and RILO Caribbean. Participants were exposed to new and emerging areas of supply chain risk and introduced to guidance material developed under the SAFE Framework of Standards in relation to self-assessing threats, risks and vulnerabilities across international cargo supply chains.

To better focus discussions on how Customs and industry can collaborate more purposefully in the pursuit of common objectives, guest speakers from DHL Express and AP Moller Maersk also participated in the seminar, adding valuable insights concerning their respective issues, challenges and solutions. Both speakers reiterated their commitment to working as trusted partners and welcomed the opportunity to forge closer relationships with the Customs community. Participants also enjoyed a working visit to observe DHL Express airside operations.