The ENDB organizes a 10-month training course each year for the benefit of French-speaking African customs officials. This training mainly focuses on customs techniques but also on legislation and customs procedures. The current course started in October 2020 and will end in June 2021. It benefits 19 customs officials from the following countries: Central African Republic, Comoros, Republic of Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, Gabon, Guinea, Mali and Niger.

For ten years the World Customs Organization (WCO) has been providing support to this programme by running a few awareness-raising and training sessions each year that allow participants to get to know the WCO better and become more familiar with it.

It is in this context that the experts of the WCO Secretariat hosted, on May 18 and 20, 2021, virtual and interactive sessions to allow participants to improve their knowledge on the following topics:

• The organization and functioning of the WCO, its mission, vision, values ​​and its 2019-2022 strategic plan;
• Modern Customs for the 21st Century, the management of Customs reform, capacity building, regionalization policy, and the particular challenges facing West and Central African Customs;
• The objectives and content of the Leadership and Management Development Programme;
• The fight against counterfeit drugs and Operation STOP that targets illicit trafficking of drugs and medical equipment used in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic;
• The Anti-Corruption and Integrity Promotion (A-CIP) Programme funded by Norway and implemented by the WCO; and
• The approach and activities aimed at promoting Gender and Diversity within customs.

Other sessions jointly facilitated by the WCO Secretariat, the Regional Capacity Building Office (ROCB) and a Regional Training Center (CRF) of the WCO-West and Central Africa (WCA) region will be organized in June 2021.

For more information, please, contact capacity.building@wcoomd.org.