The mission of the CCLEC is to upgrade the effectiveness and efficiency of its member Customs administrations in pursuing their mandates, through cooperation, sharing of best practices, human resource development, modernization, automation, harmonization of processes and procedures and information/intelligence sharing.

The modern customs administration is not one of simply collecting revenue. Just as important, Customs must be seen as an institution of facilitating trade and not a barrier to trade, albeit facilitation must not come at the expense of security of our  nations. To help the region achieve this goal of balancing trade facililtation and security, CCLEC is working closely with the WCO to implement the Columbus project in the region.

The demands and challenges brought about by modernization can be daunting to both small and big administrations and therefore it is critical for management and staff to be prepared beforehand to make this transition.

CCLEC has long been advocating capacity building as an essential pillar to support changes and I am pleased to note that CCLEC will be launching a management program very shortly to build the capacity of Customs mangers as well as junior officers.

The onslaught of globalization is upon us and Customs must be equipped to meet the challenges ahead.

I hope you will take some time to browse the website and feel free to submit any comments to the Secretariat.

Paul A Hilaire
Permanent Secretary