The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) is organizing a regional workshop from August 15 to 17, 2024, in Abuja, Nigeria. The event aims to review the implementation of the ECOWAS Informal Trade Regularization Support Programme (PARCI/ITRSP) and propose solutions to funding and technical challenges impacting data collection.
Prepared and coordinated by the Department of Economic Affairs and Agriculture, the three-day workshop brings together representatives from various ECOWAS Commission departments including Trade, Customs, Agriculture and Rural Development, Research and Development Directorates. Also participating are focal points from ECOWAS Member States and experts in trade and statistics, along with members of the Comité permanent inter-états de lutte contre la sécheresse au Sahel (CILSS) and the West African Association for Cross-Border Trade in Agro-forestry-pastoral and Fisheries Products (AOCTAH/WACTAF).
At the opening ceremony on Thursday, August 15, 2024, Dr. Seydou Sacko, ECOWAS Commission’s Principal Programme Officer for Trade Policy, Negotiations and Trade Promotion spoke on behalf of Ms. Massandje TOURE-LITSE, ECOWAS Commissioner for Economic Affairs and Agriculture. Dr. Sacko emphasized the need to accurately account for informal cross-border trade flows to present a meaningful picture of intra-Community trade volumes and inform appropriate strategies and political decisions.
Dr. Sacko called for stronger collaboration among National Statistical Institutes, Ministries in charge of Trade, Central Banks, and Regional Institutions to ensure effective implementation of ITRSP, particularly focusing on sustainable data collection on informal cross-border trade (ITC).
Yohanna K. Zacks represented Nigeria's Federal Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment at the workshop. Zacks noted that "the workshop will serve as a forum to review national efforts to collect data on informal cross-border trade in order to collectively find solutions to the challenges identified" while sharing best practices aimed at improving trade flows within the region.
In March 2012, ECOWAS adopted ITRSP to operationalize its strategy for informal trade within the region. The program provides a diagnosis of informal trade activities along with proposed actions focused heavily on data collection regarding informal cross-border trade (TIC).
Implemented by ECOWAS' Department of Economic Affairs and Agriculture alongside CILSS through a joint Technical Secretariat, ITRSP aims to increase intra-regional trade as part of building a common market while reducing poverty across the ECOWAS region.
The program is structured around four key outcomes: providing reliable information on informal trade; strengthening institutional capacity among actors involved in informal trade; initiating reforms essential for removing barriers to formal trade development; creating incentives facilitating migration from informal sector activities into formal sector operations.
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