Acting on a request by the Director General of Mali Customs, in the framework of implementation of the strategic plan devised duringPhase II of the Columbus Programme, the World Customs Organization (WCO) organized a five-day National Workshop on the Revised Kyoto Convention (RKC) which was held in Bamako (Mali) from 23 to 27 September 2013. It was attended by some 40 officials from the core departments of the Directorate General and regional Directorates, and by senior Malian Customs officers. Participants also included the members of the committee tasked with preparing for implementation of the RKC and, above all, with a comparative analysis between the provisions of the RKC and regional and national legislation. Mr. Samson Bilangna, Technical Officer in the Facilitation and Procedures Sub-Directorate of the WCO Secretariat, took part in this Workshop as an expert and shared his knowledge of the RKC and his experience of comparative analysis of the discrepancies between the RKC and national legislation. The Workshop’s opening and closing ceremonies were presided over by the Technical Adviser to the Minister for the Economy and Finance and the Director General of Customs who, on each occasion, pointed to the importance of implementation of the RKC by the Mali Customs Administration. Mali, it should be remembered, has been a Contracting Party to the RKC since 5 May 2010.

This Workshop was a great success; it significantly enhanced the understanding by Malian Customs personnel of the provisions of the RKC and especially of the benefits derived from its implementation. The Workshop ended with the drawing up of an action plan for implementing the RKC. Mali Customs is most grateful for this timely assistance. The WCO Secretariat will continue to support Mali Customs as it endeavours to implement the Convention.