WCO expands its pool of Free Zone Experts for the MENA Region

BRUSSELS : Free Zones are widely used around the world to promote exports and facilitate foreign direct investment. Appropriate Customs operations and procedures in Free Zones, in cooperation with the private sector and other government agencies, are essential for the sustainable development of Free Zones.

As part of the MENA Capacity Building Regional Strategy, the WCO and the Zakat, Tax and Customs Authority (ZATCA) of Saudi Arabia, successfully organized an Accreditation Workshop for Technical and Operational Advisors (TOAs) in the area of Free Zones for the North of Africa, Near and Middle East (MENA), from 7 to 11 July 2024 at the Zakat, Tax and Customs Academy in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, with the financial support of the ZATCA of Saudi Arabia.

The Pre-Accreditation Workshop aimed at developing a pool of highly competent experts capable of organizing and delivering capacity building activities on Free Zones on behalf of the WCO to support Members in enhancing their Customs operations in Free Zones based on WCO standards and international best practices.

During the five-day programme, 12 experts from nine countries, namely Algeria, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Morocco, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Tunisia, worked intensively and demonstrated their skills and expertise, shared knowledge and best practices on Customs operations in Free Zones and showed their enthusiasm to contribute to the WCO’s future capacity building activities.

At the end of the workshop, candidates who successfully completed this phase were designated as WCO pre-accredited experts. As part of the second phase of the accreditation process, they will be invited to serve as co-facilitators on an in-country mission to demonstrate their technical, behavioural and leadership skills. Pre-accredited candidates who successfully complete the second phase will become WCO TOAs on Free Zones.