UNODC initiated the Strategic Trade and Export Control Training in North Macedonia

15-19 May 2023, Skopje, North Macedonia: The UNODC Passenger and Cargo Border Team (PCBT) delivered the first segment of the Strategic Trade and Export Control Training (STECT) for frontline customs and police officers assigned to the Border Interagency Unit (BIU) at the Skopje International Airport.

The five-day intense training aims to emphasize the importance of control of cross-border movement of strategic and dual-use goods exploring the risk of non-state actors exploiting the containerized supply chain, as is regularly seen with drugs and other illicit commodities, to traffic or deliver weapons of mass destruction (WMD) or their component parts, comprising of chemical, biological, radiological or nuclear (CBRN) materials. The STECT contributes to exploring the relationship between effective profiling of all important export consignments and its implications for the economy and aims at building the capacity of customs and police administrations to detect illicit trade within the containerized supply chain through the detailed examination of pre-arrival information.

The training in Skopje aimed to enhance the skills and expertise of the BIU officers on strategic and dual-use export control policy, issues, and challenges. The discussions and practical exercises further deepened the knowledge of participants on export controls, non-proliferation as well as the application of the newly acquired knowledge and skills in daily work.

This training is provided by the UNODC Passenger and Cargo Border Team within the EU-UNODC joint action on enhanced border control, currently implemented in South-Eastern Europe by PCBT in cooperation with the UNODC Regional Programme for South Eastern Europe and funded by the European Union.