From April 20 to 24, 2026, the 5th meeting of the Working Group of the Master Trainers Program on Risk Management is being held in Astana, implemented with the support of the World Customs Organization (WCO) and the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).
The event is attended by representatives of the customs services of Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan, as well as accredited WCO experts.
The meeting is conducted in a practice-oriented format and serves as a working platform for discussing real cases, exchanging experience, and developing solutions applicable to the day-to-day activities of customs authorities.
Opening the event, Deputy Chairman of the Committee of State Revenues of the Ministry of Finance of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Kairat Zhumagulov, emphasized that risk management is becoming a key tool of modern customs. According to him, this is not only about increasing the effectiveness of control, but also about building a balanced system in which compliant businesses receive favorable conditions, while control measures are focused on high-risk areas.
The central theme of the meeting is the development of national training capacity. Participants are working on establishing a sustainable system for training master trainers — specialists capable of adapting international standards to national practice and ensuring their effective implementation.
Particular attention is paid to the practical component: employees of the state revenue authorities participate in training sessions based on materials developed by program participants. This approach allows not only for consolidating acquired knowledge, but also for testing its applicability in real conditions.
For Kazakhstan, this is an opportunity not only to study best international practices, but also to adapt them in line with national priorities. The focus is on transitioning to more targeted and intelligent control, reducing excessive procedures, and accelerating customs clearance.
An important area remains the development of coordinated approaches with countries of the region, which contributes to increasing transparency and predictability of goods movement, reducing administrative barriers, and strengthening Kazakhstan’s transit potential.