TRADE FACILITATION IN CENTRAL AFRICA – THE INTER-REGIONAL AGENDA Mombert Hoppe September 29, 2011

Outline  Central Africa as connector region  Current work: Cross-border trade between Nigeria and Cameroon  Current work: Cross-border trade between Republic of Congo and the Democratic Republic of Congo  Conclusion

Central Africa as connecting region  Trade facilitation interventions in CEMAC countries create spillovers to other members (landlocked), but also to neighbouring regions  Central Africa is the integrating region between West, South, and East Africa  Cameroon/Nigeria  Congo/DRC  DRC/Rwanda-Burundi-Uganda  TF projects between Cameroon and Nigeria, and between the two Congos support inter-regional connectivity  Projects are linked to transport corridor work

Cameroon and Nigeria (1)  What? ESW to identify and prioritise challenges to cross border trade. In parallel to the ESW and based on initial findings, identify and implement quick TFF actions  Broad UN partnership: contributes to the broader UN agenda for securing border zones  Where? Enugu/Bamenda corridor in the West, and Maiduguri/Limani/Maroua corridor in the North

Cameroon and Nigeria (2)  How? Collection of trade data and prices, assessment of barriers at borders and behind borders, complemented by interviews with traders and other stakeholders  Undertake 4 case studies to allow prioritisation of barriers  Currently defining products and transmission channels  2 case studies product based, two transaction based

Congo-DRC (1)  What? Recent analytical work on trade and regional integration between Brazzaville and Kinshasa (part of DRC CEM):  Demonstrated degree of existing market segmentation (goods, persons) between cities  Identified key constraints to increasing cross-border trade Cumbersome and lengthy procedures (17 agencies at Kinshasa port), lawlessness, duopoly on transport services across the river  Estimated substantial potential for increased cross-border trade and economic activity  TFF project under preparation to address these barriers

Congo-DRC (2)  Where? TF project to address some of these barriers will focus on Brazzaville-Kinshasa link from Brazzaville side  How? Mission in October to define in greater detail the specific actions that need to be undertaken to address these constraints and to concretely change the situation on the ground

How to address existing barriers  Some additional ESW to allow taking local conditions into account, coupled with and leading to specific trade facilitation activities  Based on recent experience in the Eastern DRC, specific activities to facilitate inter-regional trade will likely center around:  Improving inter-agency collaboration within and between countries; reduce the number of agencies present at borders  Increase transparency regarding legal duties and fees  Address infrastructure constraints at border posts

Conclusion  Inter-regional agenda is key to improve competition between corridors and ensure broader integration  Particular challenges is the lack of political integrating framework  A team dealing with the cross-border agenda in Central Africa exists – including work on linking Central Africa to the EAC/COMESA