SITPRO's Chief Executive, Malcolm McKinnon, at the invitation of the OECD, chaired part of their Regional Forum on Trade Facilitation, organised in collaboration with the Government of Cameroon and held in Yaoundé, Cameroon, on 27-28 September 2006.
The new container scanner at the Port of Douala
The purpose of this event was to exchange lessons learned from practical experiences with trade facilitation reforms; to discuss the provision and co-ordination of technical assistance offered by international donor organisations; and to foster a national and regional dialogue around core policy and operational issues related to the WTO negotiations.
The event, which was partly funded by the UK Department for International Development, brought together key public and private sector stakeholders involved in trade facilitation in Western and Central Africa - including delegates involved in WTO negotiations; policy makers and practitioners engaged in trade facilitation reforms on the ground; donors and multilateral and regional agencies providing assistance for trade facilitation; and private sector stakeholders contributing to reforms. The agenda and presentations can be downloaded from: http://www.oecd.org/document/59/0,2340,en_2649_36363445_37479675_1_1_1_1,00.html (Link to an external site - Disclaimer 
).
The Cameroon "Single Window" Building
Participants also visited Cameroon's "Single Window" at the Port of Douala. This comprises a co-location in one site of all the border agencies involved in clearing goods through the port. Cameroon plans to introduce from 1 January 2007 an electronic clearance procedure based on the ASYCUDA++ system developed by UNCTAD. A demonstration was given of a new container scanner installed at the port in August in a bid to combat customs fraud.
Return to SITPRO News: Issue 58, Autumn 2006
