Silvia Chauke is currently a risk manager at the Zimbabwe Revenue Authority. She is passionate about Trade Facilitation and advocate for the smooth movement of goods in the international supply chain through the application of best practice and Customs Risk Management principles.
In 2021, Silvia was contracted as the Zimbabwe National Consultant to develop and conduct a Rapid Scan of Trade Facilitation Preparedness in times of Crisis in Zimbabwe under the UNCTAD - Trade Facilitation COVID-19 & Crisis Response Package.
Besides being an active member of the National Trade facilitation Committee (NTFC) and UNCTAD certified Zimbabwe NTFC Trainer, Silvia also spearheads the implementation of some of the WTO- TFA measures particularly Risk Management activities and the Authorised Economic Operator program.
Silvia possess a set of distinct knowledge of Customs legislation, processes and procedures, Customs Risk Management, Trade Facilitation and Supply Chain security coupled with my strong technical experience and educational background. Silvia has a positive attitude and values other people`s professional expertise in finding solutions to challenges faced in Trade Facilitation.
Constantin Ciuta, is a Senior Customs Adviser of the ASYCUDA Programme, the largest technical assistance Programme of UNCTAD. ASYCUDA Programme has played a major role in the modernization of the Customs Administrations in almost 100 countries around the world and for more than 40 years.
He has had a longstanding involvement in the functional analysis, enhancement and implementation of the ASYCUDA Integrated Customs Management System in various countries in the region and on the alignment of ASYCUDA system to the European Union (EU) and EurAsian Economic Union (EAEU) Customs requirements.
He also participated in the functional analysis and design of various Single Window and ASYCUDA Cross-border e-Commerce components, such as ASYPCD (ASYCUDA Postal Customs Declaration, establishing and facilitating the exchange of electronic customs information between designated postal operators/UPU and customs administrations), ASYPAP (the ASYCUDA component to facilitate the Pre-Arrival Processing of Express consignments), and ASYHUB (“Digitizing Global Maritime Trade” initiative, improving customs administrations access to advance cargo information).
Currently, Mr Ciuta holds the position of Senior Customs Adviser at the ASYCUDA Centre of Excellence Gibraltar. Before joining the UNCTAD in 2003, he had worked in the Romanian Customs Authority.
Dr. Tsendsuren Davaa is a senior customs officer and Secretary of the Trade Facilitation Working Group of the General Customs Administration of Mongolia. She has over 26 years of practical and academic research experience in Mongolian Customs. Her career started as an examination officer and promoted team leader, senior officer and deputy director of the department over the last 10 years.
Tsendsuren holds a master's degree in Public Finance from the National Graduate Institute for Policy Study in Japan and she received her Ph.D. degree in Business Administration from the National University of Mongolia. Her customs career development took advantage of the capacity building programme which the WCO developed for its Member Customs administrations.
In 2016, she was selected to participate in the WCO-Career Development Programme. In this opportunity she worked at the WCO Secretariat for 10 months.
Over the years she has attended various WCO, WTO and UN workshops and seminars, including a trade facilitation, risk management and customs modernization. In 2017, she was accredited as WCO Customs Technical and Operational Advisor.
To date, her 32 articles and research have been published at the the national and international level. Her academic interests include trade facilitation, risk management, customs valuation, customs modernization and coordinated border management. She is a visiting professor of National University of Mongolian and Citi University of Mongolia.
Gyang Demitta Chinwude is currently Head of Customs Cooperation, Trade Facilitation and Transit as well as Senior Adviser to the Secretary-General, AfCFTA Secretariat. Before joining the AfCFTA Secretariat, she was Assistant Chief Trade Negotiator and Head of the AfCFTA/ECOWAS department at the Nigerian Office for Trade Negotiations (NOTN). In her capacity as head of this unit, she was the Alternate Chief Trade Negotiator for Nigeria during the Phase I negotiations of the AfCFTA Agreement. Prior to her deployment to the Nigerian Office for Trade Negotiations, Mrs. Gyang was a Commercial Officer at the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment, Nigeria, 2006 – 2016 where she served in the Task Force for Trade Facilitation that eventually became the National Committee on Trade facilitation after Nigeria ratified the WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement. She proceeded to Geneva, Switzerland in 2012 for an Internship at the World Trade Organization (WTO) and was a part of the Project Implementation Unit of the World Bank Growth and Employment Project (GEM), 2014 – 2016. She holds a master’s degree in International Law and Economics (MILES) from the World Trade Institute, University of Bern, Switzerland.
Iraldo Luis DJAO is economist and head of the Division for the Application of International Conventions at the Service of Economic Actions, Direction of legislation and value of the Direction General of Customs.
Just after his Master in Applied Economics in 2014, at the Omar Bongo University of Libreville, he joined a research and opinion polling firm where he worked as a consultant in charge of qualitative and quantitative studies.
In 2018, he joined the Customs Administration after a one-year training in the profession. In 2019, he joined the National Committee for Trade Facilitation, as a Member of the Secretariat.
As a member of the NTFC and at the same time at the Customs, he contributes to the coordination of trade facilitation measures with customs missions while ensuring compliance with the standards and procedures in force under the modernization program of the Malagasy Customs.
Finally, since 2020, Iraldo is leading the Consultation Framework project within the Customs to set up a permanent consultative dialogue framework bringing together all the stakeholders related to customs.
Ms. Isabelle Durant, of Belgium, is Deputy Secretary-General of UNCTAD. From February to 12 September 2021, she headed the organization as Acting Secretary-General before the appointment of a new UNCTAD Secretary-General on 13 September 2021. Prior to holding this position, she served the organization for over three years as UNCTAD’s Deputy Secretary-General.
Ms. Durant had a distinguished career in Belgian and European politics. She held the offices of Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Transport and Energy and Senator in the Belgian Government. She also served as Vice-President of the European Parliament and Presidency of the European Union Council of Ministers of Transport.
Ms. Durant has a wealth of experience collaborating with civil society and the private sector as well, notably as the Vice-President responsible for relations between the European Parliament and civil society. Finally, Ms. Durant has held posts as a senior consultant on the empowerment of women in local government for the UNDP and as a member of Parliament of the Brussels-Capital Region in Belgium.
Mr. Yann Duval is Chief of the Trade Policy and Facilitation Section at the United Nations ESCAP. Over the past 20 years, he has conducted research and delivered technical assistance and advisory services on trade and development throughout Asia and the Pacific. Since joining ESCAP, he spearheaded the creation of the ESCAP-World Bank Trade Cost Database, as well as the UN Global Survey on Digital and Sustainable Trade Facilitation. Over the past 10 years, he also led the ESCAP Secretariat team supporting the negotiation of a new UN treaty on the facilitation of cross-border paperless trade in Asia and the Pacific, which entered into force in 2021.
Dulguun Enkhbaatar is currently working as Customs officer at International Cooperation Division of Mongolian Customs General Administration. Her responsibilities are Developing project proposals and liaising with donor organizations to secure funding for capacity building events for customs official; Contact point of the multilateral cooperation.
She has graduated CQU with her Master in Business Management in 2016. She has also been appointed as a national consultant of the National Trade Facilitation Empowerment Programme at United Nation Conference on Trade and Development since 2020. Among her responsibilities are: Desk research regarding the identification and collection of relevant national emergency regulations and measures affecting trade issues in Mongolia; Develop a rapid response plan and a matrix containing all national emergency regulations and measures related to trade issues, that are put in place in emergency/crisis situations in Mongolia; Contribute to the development of action plans for the National Committee of Trade facilitation.
Julian Fraga-Campos, works at the United Nations Conference on Trade And Development (UNCTAD) as Economic Affairs Officer within the Trade Facilitation Section. His work focuses on actively supporting the implementation of Trade Facilitation initiatives, especially the strengthening of National Trade Facilitation Committees, as well as the development and implementation of Trade Information Portals in Africa and the Pacific Region. Previously, he worked at the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) in its Trade Facilitation Team, conducting research and coordinating several Trade Facilitation initiatives.
Julian also has experience working in the private sector, where he acquired international experience in logistics, production systems, managing projects and staff, and engaging with diverse stakeholders. He has a background in agribusiness, holds a Master's in Marketing Management and Distribution Channels from the Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona and a B.Sc. in Agronomy from the Mayor University of Chile.
