With the support of the WCO Anti-Corruption & Integrity Promotion (A-CIP) Programme for Customs, a workshop dedicated to a sustainable integrity approach and Customs-Private Sector dialogue was organized remotely on November 25 and 26, 2024 in Côte d'Ivoire at the initiative of the Côte d'Ivoire Customs Administration and representatives of the Ivorian private sector.

With over 20 participants and under the supervision of experts from the WCO A-CIP Programme, this activity brought together major internal and external players in the Customs context in Côte d'Ivoire and the region. Ivorian private sector umbrella organizations also contributed to the discussions, as did representatives from the Customs administrations of Cameroon, Togo and Mali. These latter shared their experiences in relations with the private sector with their Côte d’Ivoire Customs colleagues.

Motivated by the desire to share appropriate solutions for tackling corruption, promoting integrity and developing the efficiency of Customs services, participants shared experiences and best practices to identify avenues for progress as part of the finalization of the action plan involving customs and private sector representatives in Côte d'Ivoire.

The workshop enabled each participant to appreciate the importance of constructive dialogue between Customs and the private sector fro considering mutual expectations and maintaining a high level of commitment from all stakeholders over the long term. In this respect, the workshop participants agreed to meet again in December 2024 on the occasion of International Anti-Corruption Day on December 9.

The WCO A-CIP Programme provides technical assistance and capacity-building support to WCO Member administrations implementing integrity-related initiatives in line with the WCO Revised Arusha Declaration.

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