Facilitation of trade and transportation has to be seen in the context of being forever in a state of flux. There can never be that point of arrival. We can’t ever say, “We have arrived” in terms of, “We’ve done it. and that’s it! We’ve done the transport facilitation, we’ve done the security check, we’ve done the trade facilitation.” These are things that are on the floor forever. And the more that we get current, the more likely it is that we would still be falling behind. So one needs to be anticipative and participative to all sorts of emerging developments. It’s not enough to look at ourselves, in our own little context, and to try to do our bit, but to try and remain aware of the trends as they are emerging elsewhere. Trends that are bound to hit us, sooner or later, and we need to be in readiness to handle that. And the biggest example is that of trade having gotten linked with security. This link-age is here with us to stay for a very long time. I think this will remain on the central stage of international agenda for a long while, so we have got to handle it.

Regarding Customs, let me briefly state that we are making strong and conscious efforts to stop being regulators. Yes, we have a very strong regulatory role. But we want to do it participatively and in a friendly manner. Now this particular statement that I just made, clearly, cannot be taken at face value. Customs administration in Pakistan, all told, is about 10,000 people of all ranks, all sorts of educational backgrounds, all sorts of experiences, all sorts of exposures. I’m talking of the need, over time, to change our very operational culture. And that is so much easier said than done. One has to remain at it forever. You exert, you exhort, you lead by example, you educate, you do workshops, you do introspection collectively and in small groups, looking at whether we are delivering what we have to deliver. And even before that, what is it, in our view, that we should deliver And who are our masters? Who do we exit for? Customs is not a reality in isolation. We are but an appendage of a larger societal system. We have to play our role, not that of impeding, but of facilitating. And it is a huge issue–an issue of change of mindset, and we are in the midst of it.

I have those initial good vibes, from the way I am greeted, from the way we are talked about and commented upon in the press, that we are on the move. But I would like to caution all my Customs colleagues that we can’t rest on our oars. It’s a different set of beliefs, it’s a different sort of a religion that we have been getting onto. We have to remain connected, keep interacting, keep joining, remain aware of the Customs realities elsewhere, remain aware of the trends that are taking place. It is not only by chance that we are where we are: Customs is in the middle of it all. However, because of the new image that we are trying to give ourselves and the new exposure, new expertise, I think we can actually be at the cutting edge of a lot of good change. Mark my words, we can do it and I am adamant that we shall do it.

Finally, some words on how I perceive the instant GOP–UNCTAD project, which is scheduled to come to an end by 31 December. There is a perception amongst the stakeholders, that it didn’t deliver all that it should have. It had umpteen components. It is my belief that it is only the Customs bit—the single administrative document and one or two other initiatives that actually went through to the full. Of the others, some are still in embryonic stages, some didn’t take off: the trade legislation, the insurance legislation and so many other aspects.

I want to reflect very briefly on what to do next and what sort of a project should we have. Because it’s trade and security, I think we need to do a huge project. We need to do it somewhat differently than the project that is coming to a close.

We have to identify that little group of core individuals who believe in what we want to do, that’s one; who are extremely well informed, that’s two; who have the strength and the durability. It takes a lot of people to drive any change because you run into all sorts of resistance. That core team has to be very strong believers, they have to be very enthusiastic individuals, they have to be empowered fully by the Ministers of Commerce, of Finance, and of Communications But they cannot deliver this by themselves. There is far too much to do. The team has to stay there and organize a huge, multi-faceted dialogue with a very broad range of stakeholders. It’s only then that you actually move projects of this significance.

Create security: it’s a huge topic. To actually do it, we’ve got to do a hell of a lot. And it has to be a particular group amongst us that has to be empowered to be made the leaders. We have to put our trust in them, we have to invest some resources in them; we have to back them up very strongly at the Commerce, Finance and Communications Ministries. And we have to enable them to drive a very broad and diverse dialogue within all sorts of stakeholders. It is only then that we’ll start producing results.

Consultants–yes. They are the guys who give you exposure to best practice. We, unfortunately, who are in the initial phases of all sorts of reform tend to assume as if they will do it for us. Nothing will be solved that way. We need them, we can’t move without them. But irrespective of their being extremely important, they can never, ever help us arrive. We’ve got to do it ourselves.

So that’s the broad message that I wanted to give clearly to our UNCTAD representatives and to the Ministry of Commerce. That’s the way to handle it. I speak out of experience. It can be done. There is attrition in it. It has a huge threshold of pain. Nevertheless it can be done; it has to be done. Above all, I think we have to put our act together and make our supply chain safe…from the points of production to the points of delivery, world across. If today we talk about a few specific ports in the USA, that will be the global picture very soon.

Amongst us there are loads of extremely competent, informed individuals. We have to put our trust in them. We have to make the right choices in the first place. We’ve got to stay with them the distance. We’ve got to empower them, enable them. We in the Customs will stay as partners in all facilitative processes; as a partner, not on the defensive, but anytime there is anything that anyone has to say, we will say, “Okay, what can we do?” And we will join issues. We will…and will help in delivering

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