The 31st meeting of the Committee of Experts of the World Customs Organization-West and Central Africa ( WCO-WCA)   The conference opened this Wednesday in Dakar, with a reaffirmed ambition to build more modern and efficient customs administrations, facilitating trade and securing international commerce. The Director General of Senegalese Customs, Babacar Mbaye, welcomed a "shared commitment to strengthening customs cooperation, pooling our expertise, and sharing best practices" in order to support the transformation of customs administrations and improve the security of international trade.

He invited the experts, who are "architects of the technical solutions that allow customs administrations to adapt, innovate and remain efficient", to pay particular attention to major projects such as the fight against fraud, smuggling and illicit trafficking, stressing the need for better coordination between regional liaison and intelligence offices.

 

Indeed, the chief of staff of the vice-president of the WCO-WCA customs region, Abdoulaye Maïga, recalled that this meeting takes place in a context marked by "the persistence of threats to cross-border security, budgetary pressures linked to revenue optimization, the acceleration of electronic trade and digital technologies, and growing expectations from the private sector."

Furthermore, Mr. Mbaye stressed the importance of developing regional training hubs into true centers of excellence and accelerating the interoperability of customs information systems.

 

Under the theme "Customs that delivers on its commitments to efficiency, security, and prosperity," this meeting aimed to assess the implementation of recommendations from the 30th meeting of the Committee of Experts and the 31st Conference of Directors General of Customs, held in Kinshasa in May 2025. The opening ceremony brought together several distinguished guests, including representatives from the private sector and technical partners. The proceedings continued until November 21, 2025, in Dakar, with the participation of experts from the 24 WCO-WCA member countries.