November saw the second of two regional workshops aimed at engaging the Transport Service Providers (TSPs) as counter-proliferation partners. The workshop took place in Hong Kong for the Asia Pacific (ASPAC) region, following the first workshop in Malta in September.
The workshop, which was hosted by the British Consulate–General at their Hong Kong offices, brought together representatives from a wide range of transportation sector actors including fast parcel companies, port operators, security, shipping lines and transport sector associations. Public sector interest was represented by Customs and Polices Forces from Hong Kong, UNODC, Australian Border Force, EU Joint Research Centre and various representatives from the U.S Consulate General.
Panel sessions and presentations by leading industry and public sector experts were followed by a number of breakout sessions intended to explore challenges facing the transport sector and to identify areas of possible good practice for both transportation and the public sector alike.
Each breakout team had participants from both the private and public sectors to ensure a truly balanced input and view. The breakout sessions again proved to be extremely popular for all participants and identified numerous areas of potential good practice which were then developed in more detail by other groups.
The output of both the Malta and Hong Kong workshops will be further developed over the coming months. Based upon the workshop output, leading transportation industry and public sector experts will develop a series of ‘good practice’ guides which will be made available to the transportation sector to further support their actions to counter proliferation within the industry.