A workshop on how to boost intra-African trade through cutting border formalities will take place between 25 and 27 April in Ougadougou, Burkina Faso.
The One-Stop Border Post Regional Workshop is organised by the West African Economic and Monetary Union (UEMOA), with financial and know-how support from the Japanese International Cooperation Agency.
The Infrastructure Consortium for Africa (ICA), of which the African Development Bank is a member, is pleased to announce its participation and support for the event.
The two main objectives of the event are to promote and support the construction of one-stop border posts in West Africa, and to promote the new French translation of the One-Stop Border Post Source Book.
One-Stop Border Posts (OSBPs) lessen delays and facilitate inter-regional and international transport and road transit. When exiting one country and entering another, OSBPs combine two stops into one, enabling border agencies to perform joint security controls, reducing travel time and delays for both passenger and freight vehicles.
A recent report from the AfDB showed how one-stop border posts could increase intra-African trade.
Thus far, OSBP projects have been implemented in East, West and Southern Africa, and plans have been established for more than 50 OSBPs in these regions.
To capitalize on previous experience and highlight lessons learned, a reference guide, called the One-Stop Border Post Source Book, was initiated by the ICA Transport Sector Platform, championed by JICA, and developed by the East African Community.
Published in 2011, the Source Book facilitates development and addresses challenges in the implementation of OSBPs. The new French-language version of the guide will be presented during the workshop to promote OSBP discussions in French-speaking West Africa.
In addition to the useful information presented in the Source Book, sensitization workshops are organized to facilitate learning, discussion and coordination in the development of OSBPs.
Participants at the workshop in Ouagadougou will include representatives from UEMOA, ECOWAS, and UEMOA member states, in addition to delegates from Nigeria, Ghana and Guinea-Conakry. The African Development Bank will be represented by Barnabé Yougbare, Infrastructure Specialist at the Ouagadougou office.
ICA Coordinator, Mohamed Hassanb, will attend to show ICA’s support, and he will make some opening remarks.
ICA Transport Platform expert, Momoko Wada, will also attend, taking note of discussions and outcomes for presentation to ICA members at the ICA Annual Meeting on 11 to 13 June in Tunis.
This event is the third OSBP workshop to be held in Africa and the first for the West Africa region — a direct result of the success of two previous workshops that received strong support and endorsement from ICA members.*
The first workshop took place in Arusha, Tanzania, in May 2011 in collaboration with the East African Community and JICA. The second OSBP Workshop was held in Johannesburg, South Africa, in October 2011, organized by the Southern African Development Community and JICA.
* ICA members include G8 governments, the African Development Bank Group, the World Bank Group, the European Commission, the European Investment Bank, and the Development Bank of Southern Africa.
Source : BAD
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