At the invitation of the African Union, WCO Secretary General Mr. Kunio Mikuriya attended the 9th Meeting of the African Union (AU) Sub-Committee of Directors General of Customs, held in Yaoundé, Cameroon from 13 to 17 November 2017.

The theme of the Meeting was “The contribution of Customs to the analysis of international trade data, for security and the boosting of intra-African trade”.

During the opening ceremony, Mr. Fongod Edwin Nuvaga, Director General of Cameroon Customs, welcomed delegates and updated them on current developments in his Administration.

H.E. Ambassador Albert Muchanga, the African Union’s Commissioner for Commerce and Industry, outlined the AU’s current activities, including its work on the introduction of the African Free Trade Area.

Secretary General Mikuriya highlighted the main priorities of the WCO, and urged AU Members to draw on the content of WCO instruments to bring about, inter alia, the implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area and the WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement. He emphasized that the WCO offers assistance in many relevant areas, mentioning seminars on transit and origin conducted recently for the benefit of AU Members as examples of such support.

The Directors General heard and debated the reports of several Working Groups, and provided orientation for future work based on the outcomes and analyses of the Expert Working Group which had met prior to the Meeting. Issues addressed included the Interconnectivity of Computerized Customs Transit and Clearance Systems, and the outcomes of the Regional Economic Communities Sub-Committee on Customs Cooperation, the 3rd AU Customs Experts Trade Facilitation Forum, and the 1st Extra Ordinary Meeting of the AU Sub-Committee of Directors General of Customs.

The Directors General discussed and adopted a number of recommendations, relating in particular to: how to increase the number of accessions to the WTO TFA; the setting up of National Committees on Trade Facilitation as foreseen in the TFA; and issues related to the further development and implementation of AU objectives and programmes, notably those aimed at boosting intra-Africa trade which continues to show very low levels of improvement. Delegates also endorsed the need for enhanced consultations with Trade, as well as the sharing of information and best practices.

The Meeting elected Cameroon as Chair of the Bureau (Chair of this Group) for 2017/2018, with Comoros, Uganda, Benin, Côte d’Ivoire and Morocco completing the Bureau’s membership.

Secretary General Mikuriya joined delegates in congratulating Cameroon Customs on the excellent arrangements for the Meeting; he also met bilaterally with Cameroon’s Minister of Finance Mr. Alamine Ousmane Mey, to discuss issues of mutual interest.