The 7^th Annual Meeting of Capacity Building Contact Points for the West and Central Africa (WCA) region was held in Bamako (Mali) from 24 to 28 October 2016. It gave participants an opportunity to discuss a number of topics relating to the development of Customs reform and modernization strategies in their respective administrations and the challenges facing the countries represented. A mid-term evaluation of the roadmaps managed by the Regional Office for Capacity Building was also carried out, over and above sharing of experience in Customs areas of mutual interest. Generally speaking, participants focused on four key challenges for which they are seeking greater support: leadership, human resource management, regaining ownership of responsibilities outsourced to inspection companies, and the WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement. Participants expressed their gratitude to the WCO for its assistance and support efforts in these and other domains, stressing the need to continue this work.

A detailed report was presented on the capacity building activities carried out by the WCO Secretariat since the last Contact Point meeting in October 2015.

The quality of the presentations and the depth of the discussions, together with the sharing of experience and best practice, enabled the Contact Points to build a clearer picture of progress with Customs reform and modernization strategies in the WCA region and to pinpoint the major constraints faced by Customs administrations.