Korea Customs Service: "Overseas Business Continues Despite COVID-19"

[Asia Economy (Daejeon) Reporter Jeong Il-woong] Despite the impact of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19), the Korea Customs Service continues to carry out development projects overseas without interruption.

The Korea Customs Service announced on the 24th that it recently launched a new electronic customs clearance system (CAMCIS) in Cameroon.

The launched system is an export of the Korean-style electronic customs clearance system (UNI-PASS), which was developed over five years starting in 2015.

In particular, despite the adverse conditions of border closures and intercity travel bans due to COVID-19, the Customs Service completed the development by having the minimum necessary personnel for communication remain on-site while domestic developers provided 24-hour remote support.

In this regard, Moataze Louis Paul, Minister of Finance of Cameroon, expressed satisfaction, saying, “We appreciate the efforts of the Korea Customs Service to launch the electronic customs clearance system enabling non-face-to-face administration despite the spread of COVID-19.”

The Korea Customs Service secured continuity of work by incorporating non-face-to-face methods such as video conferences and online lectures while conducting customs administration modernization consulting projects in four developing countries this year, not only in Cameroon.

For example, after holding a meeting with the Gabon Customs Service chief last month, the Korea Customs Service strengthened intergovernmental cooperation by consecutively holding three video conferences this month with high-ranking officials from North Macedonia, Jamaica, and Tunisia.

Currently, the Korea Customs Service plans to develop various online training contents for developing countries in preparation for the prolonged impact of COVID-19, and once overseas entry and exit conditions improve, it plans to conduct on-site activities such as invitation training and expert dispatch in developing countries.

Lee Jin-hee, Director of the Information Planning Division at the Korea Customs Service, said, “Maintaining trust with developing countries is of utmost importance in overseas development projects. Although the external environment is very challenging due to COVID-19, efforts to continue overseas development projects without interruption are ongoing in cooperation with our export companies, local embassies, and KOICA.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.