Regional training Center of the World Customs Organization (WCO) will be opened in Astana.

Representative of Kazakhstan to the World Customs Organization Mukhtar Baibulov said project of the regional training center was presented at the past Conference of WCO''s European Heads of Customs Services held in Bergen (Norway).

He highlighted that the opening of the center is planned for the end of the year. A memorandum between Kazakhstan and the WCO is needed to be signed for this purpose.

Education provided by the WCO regional training center will create conditions to hold seminars, conferences, and lectures with further introduction of international standards of customs specialists training and training of other inspection bodies of the Central Asian states.

Main objectives of the regional center will be experience exchange, advanced training, distance learning of the customs personnel and others.

The WCO headquarters are located in Brussels.

174 countries are parties to the WCO. The countries account for 98% of the world trade. Kazakhstan entered the WCO in 1992.