Around 30 experts from Member Customs Administrations, regional and international organizations gathered in Amman, Jordan from 23 to 25 April 2019 for a transit workshop for the WCO North of Africa, Near and Middle East (MENA) region. The event was organized with the financial support of the WCO Reserve Fund and was hosted by Jordan Customs.

In interactive sessions, the WCO set the scene by presenting the guiding principles for the establishment of efficient and effective transit regimes as outlined in the various sections of the WCO Transit Guidelines and the participants shared and discussed good practices, challenges and measures for further improvement of the various aspects of transit in the region. Highly informative presentations were delivered by the Agadir Technical Unit (ATU), the International Road Transport Union (IRU) and the Customs administrations of Algeria, Bahrain, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Morocco, Palestine, Sudan, Tunisia and Qatar.

The workshop concluded with outlining strategic areas in which the Members of the MENA region would focus their efforts in view of enhancing their transit regimes. These include exchange of information, development of computerized transit systems, efficient risk management and security measures.

The transit workshop for the MENA region was the sixth in a series of regional events planned by the WCO with the objective of promoting the implementation of the WCO Transit Guidelines launched in July 2017 and the establishment by Members of efficient and effective transit regimes in their territories.