Following an invitation from the National Revenue Authority (NRA) of Sierra Leone, WCO successfully conducted a needs assessment mission in partnership with the Trade and Competitiveness Global Practice, World Bank Group, from 3 - 12 May 2016. The objective of the needs assessment was to identify the country’s capacity building needs to implement the World Trade Organization (WTO) Agreement on Trade Facilitation (TFA). The WCO mission took place in the framework of the HMRC-WCO-UNCTAD TFA Capacity Building Programme with the generous financial support of the Government of the United Kingdom through Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC).

Recognizing the whole-of-government impact of the TFA, group discussions and bilateral meetings with key stakeholders from the NRA, various government Ministries, as well as standards and port authorities helped the joint mission team to understand Sierra Leone’s current level of compliance with the TFA. In keeping with the principles of partnership with the private sector, the assessment also integrated the inputs and perspectives of private stakeholders, including the Sierra Leone Chamber of Commerce and key port operators. The mission resulted in a comprehensive assessment of Sierra Leone’s current situation in terms of meeting the provisions of the TFA, which in turn allowed for the identification of short-and long term capacity building needs as well as concrete recommendations for Sierra Leone’s upcoming WTO notifications.

The outcomes of this mission will be used to establish a joint forward plan for capacity building support, including a series of activities to be supported by the HMRC-WCO-UNCTAD TFA Capacity Building Programme under the framework of the tailor-made track of the WCO’s Mercator Programme which is designed to assist WCO members to effectively implement the TFA using the WCO’s instruments and tools. The WCO looks forward to coordinating Mercator Programme support with activities supported by the World Bank’s Trade Facilitation Support Programme in a manner that meets Sierra Leone’s needs.