The border posts between Botswana, Namibia, Zambia and Zimbabwe are among the most important cross-border trading hubs in Southern Africa as they handle significant volumes of intra-African trade, including flows driven by small-scale traders, women traders and MSMEs. Due to their strategic importance, the procedural efficiency of these border posts, interagency coordination, and the awareness of the obligations and tools established under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) are particularly critical.
The AfCFTA Protocol on Trade in Goods places strong emphasis on trade facilitation, transit, customs cooperation, and the elimination of non-tariff barriers (NTBs). The project entitled “AfCFTA support programme to eliminate non-tariff barriers, promote trade facilitation and industrial diversification – Phase 3” which is funded by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), supports Member States in strengthening these areas through targeted capacity building and technical assistance. The planned workshop responds directly to two core project outputs: i. strengthening trade facilitation and transit procedures along key corridors, and ii. raising awareness and trust in the AfCFTA NTB mechanism (www.tradebarriers.africa) among border officials and traders. The workshops will provide practical, operational training to frontline officials, enabling them to streamline procedures, improve coordination, and better support traders in line with AfCFTA commitments on non-tariff barriers (NTBs).
The workshops will be organized back-to-back to cover three different border posts of Southern Africa (Livingstone, Zambia (16-17 March); Kasane, Botswana (19-20 March); and Katima Mulilo, Namibia (22-24 March). Border agencies present at the selected borders will participate in the capacity building workshops.
