The inaugural consultative meeting between the WCO Secretariat and the WCO Africa Customs Attaché Group (WACAG) was held on Monday, 19 October 2015 at the WCO Headquarters. The WCO Secretary General welcomed the formation of the Group and used the occasion to highlight the existing partnership between the WCO and the AU.

Mr. Francois Abouzi, Customs Attaché at the Embassy of the Republic of Togo in Belgium who chaired the meeting, outlined the objectives of the Group which, among others, are:

• To contribute in promoting the implementation of WCO tools and Instruments such as the WCO Revised Kyoto Convention;
• To support effective participation in WCO activities in the three WCO Africa regions (East and Southern Africa, West and Central Africa and North Africa which is part of the Middle East and North Africa region;
• To effectively contribute to the WCO Committee meetings and during top-level dialogues; and
• To raise the profile of Customs attaches and sensitize Member Customs Administrations on the need to deploy Technical Attaches.

The Secretary General also used the occasion to introduce the new Deputy Director of Capacity Building, Mrs. Brenda Mundia who was previously from the Zambia Revenue Authority. The Members of WACAG conveyed their appreciation to the WCO Secretary General for inviting them to hold fruitful discussions and looked forward to enhancing collaboration with the WCO.