On 26 January 2016, on the occasion of the International Customs Day, the INCU held a special event in Baku, Azerbaijan and launched three new INCU Baku Regional Office initiatives:
- INCU Regional Office Internship Program
- INCU Regional Office Fellowship Program
- INCU Regional Office Lecture Series
The official opening ceremony of these initiatives and the workshop were hosted by the WCO European Regional Office for Capacity Building (ROCB).
The ceremony commenced with the welcoming address by Head of the WCO ROCB, Mr Roger Hermann, who gave brief information about the ROCB’s activities and stressed the importance of initiatives such as these and the workshop for capacity building activities in the region.
First Deputy Chairman of the State Customs Committee of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Lieutenant-General Mr Safar Mehdiyev, welcomed the participants and said it was praiseworthy that the event coincided with the International Customs Day. Mr Mehdiyev said that cooperation between the International Network of Customs Universities (INCU) and the State Customs Committee of the Republic of Azerbaijan is evolving and the fact that the event is organised by the Baku Regional Office of the network, brought together participants from leading educational institutions of Azerbaijan which would contribute to capacity building in the field of customs.
Head of INCU Secretariat, Dr Mikhail Kashubsky, also addressed the audience. He congratulated everyone on the occasion of the International Customs Day and expressed his gratitude to the Head of WCO ROCB, Mr Roger Hermann for hosting the event and the State Customs Committee for their support of INCU activities. Speaking about the importance of the INCU Regional Office initiatives, Dr Kashubsky expressed his confidence in the short course and said that these and similar activities will continue in the future on a regular basis. He then invited the audience to watch a video address by INCU President, Professor David Widdowson.
More photos from the opening ceremony are available in the Photo Gallery.