Under the auspices of the Mauritius Revenue Authority, Vice-Chair of the WCO ESA region, the EU-WCO Programmes for Harmonized System and Rules of Origin in Africa held the annual steering committee meetings on 2 October 2023 in Plaigne Magnien, Mauritius. The high level meetings gathered representatives from the European Union, the WCO, the African Continental Free trade Area Secretariat, the WCO ESA and WCA Regional Offices for Capacity Building, Regional Economic Communities and Customs administrations from Africa, to appraise the results of the Programmes, provide guidance and orientation, and approve the work plan for the next reporting period.

In his opening remarks, Mr. Vivekanad Ramburun, MRA Director of Customs underlined the importance of Customs Excellence as a driver for intra African trade and the success of the AfCFTA initiative. This excellence can only be reached through targeted, efficient and comprehensive capacity building programmes. He stressed the prominence of strengthened continental and regional cooperation among African Customs administrations and relevant partners to promote consistency and advanced application of Customs processes while addressing challenges arising from global trends. He pointed out that the EU-WCO Programmes perfectly reflect and support the inclusive and consultative approach, which brings tangible impact and benefits for the whole region. 

In her opening remarks, Ms. Macarena Ruiz-San-Jose, Programme Manager, Directorate General for International Partnerships, at the European Commission, expressed appreciation to the steering committee members for the excellent collaboration and shared commitment in the Programmes’ vision and objectives. She stated that the HS and RoO Africa Programmes’ relevance and added value was notable through the remarkable and concrete results achieved. She emphasized the unwavering support of the European Union while recognizing the outstanding impact of the Programmes at continental, regional and national levels, as well as the key role and contribution of the Steering Committee Members in efficient and successful implementation of the programme.

In the same way, Mr. Larry Liza, Director WCO ESA ROCB commended the Programmes in his opening remarks stating that the HS Africa Programme was one of the only global initiatives fully dedicated to the implementation of the Harmonized system. He reiterated that the impact of the Programme was prominent across the ESA region with more than 80% of the members having implemented the new version of the HS 2022 by 2022. Mr. Liza called upon the Programmes to further support partners in capacity building and provision of HS publications, streamlining of origin procedures, and implementation of harmonized e-certificate of origin. Mr. Liza, Highlighted the importance of partnership and that EU funding was and remains vital in making such an impact.

The Steering Committee, on a high note commended the work accomplished by the Programmes to date and the significant milestone it had played in advancing harmonized trade through the timely implementation of the Harmonized system (HS), robust capacity building initiatives as well as the implementation of advance rulings among the African partners at regional and national levels. Committee members acknowledged the important changes that the Programme was making for its beneficiaries and in Africa. The Committee expressed its appreciation to the European Union for the partnership and highlighted the paramount importance of continuity of both the HS and RoO programmes, as well as the prospects to include valuation.

The steering Committee Members reviewed the progress made so far by the Programmes and examined the key areas that still needed interventions such as supporting efforts towards establishment of Customs laboratories, implementation of advance rulings, Origin adapted training materials, self-certification of origin, electronic certificate of origin, and support to the AfCFTA secretariat.

The Committee adopted and validated recommendations for the way forward and concluded the meeting by endorsing Programme’s annual report for 2022 and 2023.

For more details, please contact hs@wcoomd.org.