On 27 August 2025, the World Customs Organization (WCO) advised that its Secretary General (SG) had participated in one of the thematic events of the 9th Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD 9) held on 19 August 2025 in Yokohama, Japan. The session, titled “Paving the Way to Africa’s Single Market: AfCFTA’s Journey for the Last Six Years and its Future”, was organised by Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) in cooperation with the WCO and the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Secretariat.
The event focused on the efforts needed to support the AfCFTA in reaching its full potential and to identify needs and future actions towards realising a single African market. In his opening remarks, recalling that the WCO’s mission is to develop international standards, including the Harmonized System (HS) on which AfCFTA’s preferential tariff rates and Rules of Origin are based, the Secretary General highlighted that the WCO was engaged in supporting its members in Africa through an EU-funded programme on HS and Rules of Origin (RoO). These programmes focus on developing capacity in the field of goods classification, leading to the consistent application of AfCFTA’s preferential schemes. Furthermore, the SG emphasised the key role played by trade facilitation in realising the potential of AfCFTA through minimising border delays, increasing predictability, and lowering transaction costs, citing a World Bank estimate that well-implemented trade facilitation measures are the most efficient way to ensure economic benefits under the AfCFTA.
During the panel, the SG stated that the role of customs was crucial in implementing the AfCFTA, which carries the private sector’s expectations of preferential tariff and trade facilitation, because Customs, as administrator of trade, is responsible for appropriate application of preferential duties and the distinction of legitimate goods from high-risk shipments, through which customs can bring clarity and stability to international trade.
Other panellists, including representatives of JICA, the AfCFTA Secretariat, and the Zambia Revenue Authority, also emphasised the importance of trade facilitation measures.
The panel helped the audience understand the importance of the work customs administrations do in administering trade, realising the benefits of AfCFTA.
The event also marked the completion of the RoO Handbook, which was developed through the WCO Master Trainer Programme (MTP) on Rules of Origin, supporting the implementation of AfCFTA. The handbook was a WCO/JICA joint project.
Alongside his participation in TICAD 9, SG met with the president of JICA, and the Director General of Customs and Tariff Bureau, Ministry of Finance, Japan and his deputy and exchanged views on the roles of customs and the WCO in the current trade environment and on the cooperation between the WCO and their respective organisations.
The DG also attended a session with scholars of the Japan-WCO Human Resource Development Programme (scholarship programme for Master’s degree courses in Japan) and shared his insights.