First graduating class of the Afghan National Customs Academy

KABUL, March 15 /CNW Telbec/ - Today 48 students celebrated being the first graduating class of the newly opened Afghan National Customs Academy (ANCA). Canadian Ambassador William Crosbie joined senior Afghan officials, US colleagues and the students and teachers of the Academy for this important event.

"It brings me great pleasure to be back at the academy to see the first class of the Afghan National Customs Academy graduate," said Ambassador William Crosbie. "Canada is very pleased to be able to draw on our expertise to support the Government of Afghanistan in building their own customs capacity and supporting the nation's commerce and revenue collection."

Established with the support of a number of international donors, the ANCA will assist the Afghanistan Customs Department to build a modern customs service. Through the ANCA, 150 to 200 recruits will be trained over the course of 12 months on customs practices. At the same time, four Afghan trainers will participate in a train-the-trainer program so that Afghans can train Afghans to ensure that the ANCA remains operational and is sustainable over the long term.

Canada has developed customs training modules for inclusion in the curriculum of the Afghan National Customs Academy in Kabul and will be developing a Senior Management Development Program for the Academy. The Government of Canada has also provided experts from the Canada Border Services Agency to fill the roles of Deputy Dean and Senior Trainer for the Academy.

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