Saudi Arabia, 16 July 2021 - The UN Environment Programme (UNEP) OzonAction Compliance Assistance Programme (CAP), West Asia Office in association with its partners the National Ozone Unit (NOU) of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), the KSA-Customs Office, and in cooperation with the Philippines Ozone Desk organized a successful two-day (12-13 July 2021) online training for Customs Officers to accomplish the tasks under the HCFC Phase-Out Management Plan (HPMP) in Saudi Arabia. It is worth noting that this was the first time the West Asia Network coordinated with the Southeast Asia Network in conducting a Customs training.
The first day of the training was dedicated to all Saudi Customs Officers tackling the steps in Combatting Illegal Trade of Ozone Depleting Substances (ODS) and the good practices in dealing with confiscated illegal ODS. A link to a pre-test was shared with participants before the training started to check the level of knowledge of the Customs Officers about Montreal Protocol customs-related issues.
The following day had mixed participation from Saudi Arabia Customs and Philippines Ozone
Officers. The training focused on the safe handling of refrigerants since Customs Officers will be dealing with refrigerants during inspections which may have either high pressure, or be toxic or flammable. The training highlighted the actual demonstration of the use of refrigerant identifiers. Different types of refrigerants were identified and step-by-step procedures on how to properly use the refrigerant identifiers in different situations was given emphasis. The trainees were allowed to interact with the trainers through questions, comments, and interventions. 
The successful training concluded with closing remarks by Mr. Khaled Klaly, Montreal Protocol Regional Coordinator. He thanked the KSA-NOU, the KSA-Customs Office, and the Philippines Ozone Desk for their collaboration in the training and he hoped that the cooperation between West Asia and Southeast Asia Networks will not be the last but will expand to other Montreal Protocol cooperation issues.
For more information:
Khaled Klaly
Montreal Protocol Regional Coordinator, West Asia
UNEP OzonAction
E-mail: Khaled.klaly[at]un.org
