Faced with the regular changes observed in global trade, Côte d'Ivoire, Burkina Faso and Niger interconnect their management system. The aim is to harmonise procedures at border posts to remove obstacles to trade

The directors general of the customs administrations of Côte d'Ivoire, Niger and Burkina Faso were in Abidjan on Tuesday, June 22 to sign the related documents. The 3 countries have put in place a legal framework to coordinate the implementation of a project called the Interconnected Rail Freight Management System (SIGMAT). It aims to ease customs procedures for goods in transit transported by rail. The main objectives of the project, which are already being implemented between these 3 countries for goods transported by road, are to facilitate trade, secure transit procedures and combat customs fraud

The project contributes to strengthening regional integration, has received financial and technical support from the World Bank, the European Union, German Cooperation, Dutch Cooperation, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), the World Customs Organization (WCO) and the United Nations Conference United Nations Trade and Development (UNCTAD). The States Parties to the Agreement plan, in the long term, to achieve an interconnection of their customs information systems in order to better manage the specificities linked to the customs practices and provisions in force in each country