The COLIBRI Project organised its first two in-person training courses in the West African region. They took place in Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire, from November 16 to 19, 2021, and in Nouakchott, Mauritania, from November 29 to December 3, 2021.

The training in Côte d'Ivoire was organised at the Félix-Houphouët-Boigny International Airport and was attended by 17 officials from different law enforcement agencies and the main national administrations in charge of civil aviation control: Customs, Gendarmerie, National Police, Air Force, Ministry of Water and Forestry and the Joint Airport Interdiction Task Force (JAITF) of the AIRCOP Project.

The face-to-face course complemented the theoretical knowledge obtained by officials, through the online training held in September 2021, with a practical component and application on the ground as, for instance, inspections on a helicopter were carried out on the airport apron.

The in-person course in Mauritania also allowed to further develop and put into practice the subjects taught during the online training organised in the country (February - March 2021), the course gathered 39 officials from: Customs, Gendarmerie, Police and the National Civil Aviation Agency. Practical exercises and tutorials were carried out, and real case studies were presented and examined in order to draw lessons and best practices to be applied by the officials in their daily work.

Throughout the course, especially during interventions from high authorities, it was highlighted that the COLIBRI project is a role model for inter-agency cooperation.

These trainings fall under the first objective of the Project: Capacity building for national administrations involved in the fight against organised crime and illicit trafficking.

The in-person trainings will continue in West and Central Africa throughout the first quarter of 2022. The next training course will take place at the end of January in Dakar, Senegal.