WCO Master Trainer Programme and Time Release Study Programmes in Central Asia and the Caucasus Strengthen Connectivity

• The Master Trainer Programme (MTP) on Risk Management and the first-ever sub-regional Time Release Study (TRS) Programme for Central Asia and the Caucasus (CAC) have been successfully completed under the WCO-JICA Joint Project.
• The MTP resulted in the development of 15 Master Trainers on Risk Management, while participants of the TRS Programme generated national and regional recommendations to improve connectivity along the Middle Corridor/Trans-Caspian Sea Route.
• Continued cooperation among World Customs Organization (WCO) Members in the sub-region will further improve border efficiency, connectivity, and strengthen regional integration.

Amid the growing importance of the Middle Corridor/Trans-Caspian Sea Route for supply chain resilience and regional development, the WCO, in cooperation with the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), launched the MTP (Master Trainer Programme) on Risk Management (RM) and the sub-region's first-ever sub-regional Time Release Study (TRS) Programme in 2024. These initiatives brought together eight WCO Members from the CAC - namely Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan.

Master Trainer Programme on Risk Management

The MTP on RM was implemented through five Working Group (WG) meetings held in person and hosted by the Customs administrations of Kazakhstan or Georgia, complemented by a series of online intersessional sessions. Sixteen WG members representing the eight WCO Members took part in all programme activities.

Through a structured Train-the-Trainer (TTT) approach, participants strengthened both their technical expertise in risk management and their capacity to deliver training within their administrations. Throughout WG1 to WG4, and in online sessions, participants shared national experiences and challenges related to RM implementation, studied the latest WCO developments and instruments, and worked on practical case studies and risk analysis methodologies, including passenger and postal targeting.

The participants also collaborated in developing regional training materials on RM, with support provided by WCO Accredited Experts and experts from Japan Customs.

The fifth and final WG meeting was held in April 2026 in Astana, Kazakhstan. As a culmination of the programme, the participants designed and delivered a three-day workshop for Kazakhstan Customs officials using the training materials they had developed throughout the programme. A comparison of pre- and post-training assessment results demonstrated a significant improvement in participants' knowledge and confirmed the effectiveness of the training delivered by the future Master Trainers (MTs).

The MTP concluded with the development of the sub-region's first-ever 15 MTs in RM. These trainers are expected to serve as regional assets, contributing to sustainable and self-sustaining capacity building capability in the region.

Time Release Study Programme

The TRS programme was designed with several stages to ensure long-term impact, including completing WCO e-learning on TRS, learning the WCO TRS methodology during the first workshop, conducting national TRS exercises, and sharing results and recommendations at the final workshop.

The first workshop was held in January 2025 in Tbilisi, Georgia. It introduced participants to key elements of the WCO TRS methodology, such as planning, data collection, analysis, and reporting. Following the workshop, the participants from eight WCO Members in CAC conducted national TRS by preparing business plans, establishing national working groups, conducting studies, analyzing data, and drafting reports. Throughout this process, technical support was provided through regular online intersessional meetings.

The second and final workshop was held in February 2026 in Astana, Kazakhstan marking an important milestone in efforts to strengthen connectivity and facilitate trade along the Middle Corridor/Trans-Caspian Sea Route. The participants from eight WCO Members presented their TRS results and shared their experiences, lessons learned and challenges encountered during implementation.

In general, their national TRS demonstrated the effectiveness of the following findings:

• The submission of import declaration prior to the arrival, supported by information exchange systems between neighboring Members has significantly reduced the border processing time and expedited the release of cargo;
• Targeted inspections based on accurate risk management reduced average border crossing times, especially that for low-risk goods;
• Significant delays were often identified in the procedures of other border regulatory agencies, such as certification, licensing, and permit issuance. Strengthening Coordinated Border Management (CBM) would further reduce cargo clearance times and improve border efficiency; and
• The transition to digital data collection improved the efficiency and accuracy of the TRS data collection process. Nevertheless, some operational data still has to be collected manually, including movement time between Customs and quarantine checkpoints.

During the workshop, the participants also benefited from presentations delivered by WCO experts, including a WCO Accredited Expert on TRS from Malaysia Customs about TRS implementation by other WCO Members. The experts emphasized the importance of accurate data collection and robust analysis and presented examples of regional-level TRS implementation initiatives from other regions that have been used to identify bottlenecks and assessed the effects of past trade facilitation efforts along entire international corridors.

Building on the results of the national studies and the discussions held throughout the Programme, the participants formulated the following recommendations aimed at further enhancing trade facilitation of the Middle Corridor/Trans-Caspian Sea Route and regional cooperation in CAC.

National level recommendations:

• Conduct TRS awareness activities for all stakeholders on a regular basis (within first year)
• Strengthen risk management at borders (within one to five years)
• Improve infrastructure at Customs posts and warehouses (within five years)
• Develop integrated information technology systems covering for import, export and transit (within five years)

Regional level recommendations:

• Conclude intergovernmental memorandum of understanding at corridor level (within one year)
• Strengthen exchange information between authorities on both sides of border crossing points (within one to five years)
• Conduct joint TRS between neighboring countries (within one to five years)
• Pursue mutual recognition of Authorized Economic Operator (AEO) programmes (within five years)
• Implement the "One Border Post" concept (within five years)
• Develop a unified transit system (e.g., Central Asia Transit System) (More than five years)

Looking Ahead

The successful completion of the MTP and TRS Programme marks an important step towards a more coordinated, data-driven and collaborative approach to improve connectivity and efficiency along the Middle Corridor/Trans-Caspian Sea Route in CAC. By strengthening regional expertise in risk management and generating evidence-based recommendations through TRS, the Programme has laid a solid foundation for future cooperation among Customs administrations in CAC.

The newly developed MTs and the participants of TRS are encouraged to maintain the strong professional networks established through the Programme and to continue working together to support regional integration, enhance border efficiency and facilitate legitimate trade throughout the region.