Tunis, 23-25 October 2012
Following the signing of the general Memorandum of understanding between the WCO and the African Development Bank (AfDB) in the beginning of this year and respective virtual exchanges since, the WCO Deputy Director Capacity Building Heike Barczyk met representatives of the AfDB in Tunis on 23-24 October for several working meetings that aimed at filling the MoU with "life". An exchange of both organizations’ Capacity Building approaches and experience led to discussions on the planning of concrete joint activities and projects. On the second day, two colleagues from Japan Customs joined the discussions, providing views and insights from a WCO Member's perspective who is interested in providing further support to African countries. As next steps it is foreseen to jointly work on a written project plan on activities for the coming years.
Upon invitation from Tunisian Customs, Ms. Barczyk also met colleagues from the said administration on 25 October. She was welcomed by the new Director General of Tunisian Customs, Mr. Mohamed Meddeb. Discussions included the ongoing joint work on the modernization project of the Tunisian-Libyan border, which is financially supported by the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB), but also the entire modernization processes within Tunisian Customs. Next steps are supposed to include the set-up of a steering group for the modernization project as well as a diagnostic mission along the borde.