In February 2020, the INCU Management Committee member, Mr Samuel Bautista participated on behalf of the INCU in the Humanitarian Networks and Partnerships Week (HNPW) 2020 and the annual meeting of the Working Group on IMPACCT (IMPortation and Customs Clearance Together!) organised by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) that was held in Geneva, Switzerland.
Mr Bautista was one of the panellists in the discussion session on “From Business as Usual to Prioritisation of Humanitarian Relief”; presenting on the topic of “Legal & Regulatory Preparedness in Humanitarian Goods Clearance” he shared details of the efforts in the Philippines in facilitating the movement of cross border inbound humanitarian relief through the operations of the Inter-Agency One Stop Shop at airports.
As part of his visit to Europe, Mr Bautista also visited the World Customs Organization where he met with the WCO Deputy Security-General, Mr Ricardo Trevino Chapa to discuss recent initiatives in Customs capacity-building and education and the United Nations Conference and Trade and Development (UNCTAD) where he met with the Chief of Trade Logistics Branch, Dr Jan Hoffmann, to discuss areas of mutual interest and cooperation between INCU and UNCTAD.
While in Switzerland, Mr Bautista also visited an INCU Affiliate, Cross-Border Research Association (CBRA) in Lausanne and met with its Director, Dr Juha Hintsa to discuss the upcoming WCO PICARD Conference 2020.