As part of its Capacity Building strategy, and under the patronage of the programme “Harmonizing the classification of goods based on WCO standards to enhance African trade”, funded by the European Union (EU), the WCO organized an accreditation workshop for Technical and Operational Advisors (TOAs) on the cross-cutting tools on classification, origin and valuation developed under the Revenue Package.  This workshop was conducted from 4 to 8 March 2019 at the WCO’s Regional Training Centre (RTC) in Ouagadougou (Burkina Faso), with the participation of twelve Customs officials from French-speaking African countries.

During the workshop the participants, who came from Benin, Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, Gabon, Mauritius, Niger, Togo and Senegal, had the opportunity to demonstrate their knowledge and communication skills with respect to the cross-cutting tools of the Revenue Package, and were assessed by experts from the WCO’s “Capacity Building” and “Tariff and Trade Affairs” Directorates.  Having successfully demonstrated their potential, participants were awarded their pre-accreditation and will subsequently be invited to lead a field mission in which they will again be assessed for the purposes of final accreditation.

This workshop marks an important step in the implementation of WCO Capacity Building strategies, as it should help expand the pool of TOAs able to carry out diagnostic and planning missions on behalf of the WCO, particularly in the context of the programme of joint EU–WCO assistance exclusively targeting the administrations of French-speaking African countries.

Participants also found the workshop to be an excellent platform for exchanges of views and experiences on HS, origin and valuation.  The WCO welcomes the commitment of, and contribution made by, the participants, and thanks the Directors General for their determination to contribute to Capacity Building efforts in French-speaking African countries.

The WCO would also like to thank the programme “Harmonizing the classification of goods based on WCO standards to enhance African trade” for its financial support, and the Burkina Faso Administration for its commitment to Capacity Building and for the considerable assistance given to organizing and holding the workshop.