UN Trade and Development (UNCTAD), in collaboration with the Benin "Ministère du Tourisme et Commerce Extérieur", is organising a two-day workshop to strengthen the consideration of transit, transport and digitalisation within the work of the National Trade Facilitation Committee (CNFE).
Held under the EU-funded Global Gateway Support Programme for the Cotonou–Niamey Corridor (GGSP–COTONI), the workshop will bring together public administrations, technical agencies and private-sector representatives to discuss practical challenges affecting corridor operations and explore opportunities for coordinated improvements.
Transport, customs transit and digital procedures are closely connected. Improving corridor performance requires effective cooperation among the institutions and operators involved, alongside clear regulatory frameworks and reliable exchanges of information.
The workshop will address:
- Customs transit guarantees: the proposed agreements and operational arrangements for a single customs transit guarantee linking Benin, Burkina Faso, Niger and Togo;
- Integrated digitalisation: the mapping of commercial, transport and customs procedures, connections between existing applications, and options for interoperability among national Single Windows;
- Road transport reform: regulatory convergence, formalisation, professionalisation and the proposed quadrilateral road transport agreement;
- Institutional cooperation: opportunities to strengthen interaction between the CNFE and the National Transport Facilitation Committee (CNFT), while respecting their respective mandates;
- Implementation monitoring: the use of UNCTAD’s Reform Tracker to support follow-up on Article 11 of the WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement, concerning freedom of transit.
Presentations will draw on consultations, technical workshops and field missions undertaken with national institutions and corridor stakeholders. Participants will examine findings and proposed options, share operational experience and discuss priorities for further action.
The workshop aims to strengthen the CNFE as a forum for public–private dialogue on transit, transport and digitalisation. Its discussions will help members identify priorities to inform the Committee’s own programme of work and support continued engagement with the institutions responsible for implementation.
GGSP–COTONI is funded by the European Union and implemented jointly by Enabel, TradeMark Africa and UNCTAD. UNCTAD’s contribution focuses on transit, transport and digitalisation, including institutional capacity-building, Single Window interoperability and preparations for a single customs transit guarantee.
