OSCE supports regional workshop on risk management in Kazakhstan

ASTANA, 12 October 2016 – An OSCE-supported regional workshop on international experience in administering risk management system started today in Astana, bringing together some 80 tax and customs officials from Belgium, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Lithuania, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan.

The two-day event is organized by the OSCE Programme Office in Astana in close partnership with the German Society for International Cooperation (GIZ) and the State Revenue Committee of Kazakhstan’s Finance Ministry.

The participants shared international experience and reviewed ways to enhance customs clearance procedures and facilitate trade in the region. Experts from the World Customs Organization, the World Bank, Belgium, and Latvia presented examples of productive co-operation between tax and customs authorities. They also discussed challenges in co-operation among international and national actors and ways to address them.

“Our objective is to promote the trade and transit of goods throughout the territory of Kazakhstan by applying a principle of ‘maximum trust’ to bona fide businesses,” said Eldar Mamlin, Head of the Risks, Analysis and Statistics Department of the State Revenue Committee. “Reforming the risk management system will facilitate business growth by decreasing the risk of corruption and promoting integrity.” 

György Szabó, Head of the OSCE Programme Office in Astana stressed the importance of best practices, noting that the subsequent enhanced efficiency of customs procedures at all levels would promote regional economic growth.

The workshop is part of the Programme Office’s multi-year efforts to assist the host country in promoting good governance and facilitating trade in the region.