The onset of the 21st century has raised new challenges for Customs administrations in the international trade arena.

Customs is taking on more and more responsibility for ensuring the security of the international trade supply chain, while at the same time facing a greater demand for facilitation to promote economic and social development.

How can the use of information and communication technology (ICT) help Customs bridge the gap between security and facilitation, modernization and traditionalism, transparency and opacity and developed and developing countries? To what extent can public/private partnerships assist in narrowing these divides? What role can WCO standards play in solving these problems? The 2005 WCO IT Conference & Exhibition will provide a unique opportunity to answer these questions.

The Customs officials, business leaders, government representatives and industry experts in attendance will provide insights into the latest developments in the Customs and the business worlds and will discuss the many challenges and opportunities in the ICT domain.

The Exhibition, to be held alongside the Conference, will offer networking opportunities enabling participants to obtain first hand information from suppliers and users on solutions, technologies and trends.
Discussions will focus on:

· WCO standards such as the WCO Data Model and the UCR
· The digital divide
· Public/private ICT partnerships

Target audience

This Conference will be of particular interest to high-level Customs officials, business executives and representatives from governmental and non-governmental organizations and lending institutions involved in international trade and economic development.