Emanating from the "Facilitation of transit, transport and trade in West Africa for better participation in value chains" project, and based on the confirmed will of the Ministers of Trade and Ministers of Transport of the four beneficiary countries through the signing of the Quadrilateral Declaration for the "Convergence of the legal framework for road transport, intermediation, of road transport, intermediation, transit and trade and its roadmap" in Niamey on May 25, 2023, Benin, Burkina Faso, Niger and Togo are moving forward on a common trajectory to set up a regulatory convergence framework through transit and transport working groups within the National Trade Facilitation Committees set up in each participating country to advance the dialogue and achieve convergence in a coordinated manner.

The aim of the workshop, six months ahead of the first inter-ministerial meeting, is to present the project's activities in 2023, and to take stock of the activities carried out to implement the Quadrilateral Declaration and its roadmap. The workshop will also provide an overview of activities carried out since the launch of the project, as well as an update on actions taken at national level with Technical and Financial Partners, with a view to obtaining the support needed to continue implementing the roadmap for 2024 and 2025.

During the workshop, working groups made up of representatives from the Ministry of Trade, the Ministry of Transport and Customs will finalize the sub-regional examination of the three draft studies and proposals for quadrilateral agreements:

1. On trade facilitation: A study on the interconnection and interoperability of Single Windows to inspire a sub-regional application.
2. On transport: a draft quadrilateral agreement on road transport.
3. On Transit: A study and a transitional quadrilateral agreement on the operation of the TRIE single guarantee.

UNCTAD's support will have helped create the framework for regulatory convergence and laid the foundations for the four countries to continue implementing the roadmap aimed at making the corridors more attractive for freight, thanks to professionals who are structured and trained in a harmonized way.