Montenegro and Serbia contribute to the development of Project Hermes, phase 2

 

29 November 2023, Vienna, Austria, UNODC held a meeting with the representatives of Montenegro and Serbia Customs Administrations, Postal Operators and Ministries of Interior. The purpose was to review the achievements of the first phase of Project Hermes, discuss the implementation of the Memoranda of Understanding (MoU) on exchange of information to counter firearms in postal parcels, the adoption of the Standard Operating Procedures, and finalize consultations of the project's second phase.

The officials from Montenegro and Serbia also presented a comprehensive overview of the identified needs, which served as the basis for establishing the training and equipment requirements under the second phase of the project. National authorities recognized the potential for public-private partnerships and the need to expand information exchange with the Express Courier companies.

As the meeting concluded, stakeholders left with a jointly established plan agreed through collaboration and a shared commitment to achieving the goals of Project Hermes – ensuring the expeditious processing of express courier and postal parcels while simultaneously upholding safety and security standards.                                                       

This activity is implemented with financial support provided by Germany, the United Kingdom, Sweden, France, the Netherlands, and Norway through the Western Balkans SALW Control Roadmap Trust Fund and supported by the European Union.