From April 19-21, the Border Management Programme in Central Asia held a workshop in Bishkek on innovative principles and methods of risk management and green channels. The workshop targeted Kyrgyz national customs officers directly involved in the field of development and implementation of risk management strategies and measures of the State Customs Service, under the Ministry of Finance of the Kyrgyz Republic. This is the second workshop of its kind, conducted by the BOMCA Programme in Central Asia, following the implementation of a similar activity in Kazakhstan.

The workshop supported the customs administration in developing and improving the risk management system, through the application of innovative methods, tools and information systems used to classify and profile customs risks. Based on the discussion and assessment of the existing system,  areas of improvement were identified and recommendations were developed to further modernise the risk management and green channel systems.  

The green channel system allows for simplification of customs control, which enables customs authorities to improve the flow of passengers and goods and to deal efficiently with increasing trade volumes, without reducing the effectiveness of the control and without a corresponding increase in the number of Customs staffs.

The expert team from the National Customs Board of State Revenue Service of Latvia paid special attention to the innovative principles and methods of risk management, which could be adapted to Kyrgyzstan. The introduction of principles of control of areas with the greatest risk enables customs authorities to improve the flow of passengers and goods, as well as to deal with increasing trade volumes without reducing the effectiveness of control.