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Improving the Border Agency Cooperation

Among the OIC Member States for Facilitating Trade

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coordinate development programs in all aspects of economic and social

development.

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Southern African

Development

Community –

SADC

The Southern African Development Community (SADC) is an inter-governmental

organisation with headquarters in Gaborone, Botswana. The main goals are to

achieve development, peace and security and economic growth, to alleviate poverty

and to enhance the standard and quality of life of the peoples of Southern Africa.

While there are 15 members in SADC, Mozambique is the only OIC country

involved. One of the SADC integration milestones is the establishment of a Customs

Union, implying future cooperation on customs and trade. SADC also established a

free trade area in 2008, and 12 of its member states have signed free trade

agreements.

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West African

Economic and

Monetary Union -

WAEMU

The West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU), also known by its

French acronym, UEMOA, was founded in 1994. Today it comprises eight OIC

members, namely Benin, Burkina Faso, Cote d'Ivoire, Guinea-Bissau, Mali, Niger,

Senegal and Togo. It aims towards greater regional integration and creation of a

unified external tariff. It has established a common accounting system, periodic

reviews of member states' macroeconomic policies based on convergence criteria, a

regional stock exchange and the legal and regulatory framework for a regional

banking system.

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Source: Organization websites and documents

3.3.3.

Country initiatives

There are a number of country-specific initiatives within the African Region. In the following,

examples from five countries: Burkina Faso, Cote d’Ivoire, Mali, Senegal and Togo, as well as an

incerpt of the West Africa Joint Border Post Program will be presented. Furthermore, a full

case study on Uganda in Chapter 4 of this report is presented. Also our non-OIC case on Zambia

and Zimbabwe (Chapter 2) is highly relevant for the region.

BAC in Burkina Faso: Building the capabilities with the help of global solutions

Burkina Faso has been actively building their customs capabilities over the past ten years. The

country is currently in the process of upgrading the Asycuda++ software to the most recent

Asycuda World edition. The Asycuda World helps border control agencies in Burkina Faso to

further automate and control cross-border formalities and traffic. The country is also implementing

a new digital platform for all public and private government agencies to handle documents and

information related to the cross-border trade. This new single window solution is expected to

accelerate the cross-border traffic and make it more cost-efficient for the private sector. Burkina

Faso customs is also implementing the key standards of the WCO’s Revised Kyoto Convention and

the SAFE Framework of Standards, and the country is committed to establish a national AEO

program.

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BAC in Cote d’Ivoire: Improving the regional connectivity

10

5 http://manoriverunion.int/(accessed

7 May 2016)

10

6 www.sadc.int/

(accessed 8 May 2016)

1

07 https://ustr.gov/countries-regions/africa/regional-economic-communities-rec/west-african-economic-and-monetary- union-uemoa (

accessed 8 May 2016)

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National workshop on the implementation of the Revised Kyoto Convention and the SAFE Framework of Standards.

www.wcoomd.org/en/media/newsroom/2016/april/national-workshop-on-the-implementation-of-the-revised-kyoto- convention-and-the-safe-framework.aspx (

accessed 5 April 2016)