On Monday, December 3, 2018, a bilateral meeting between the Customs Administrations of the Republic of Benin and the Togolese Republic was held in Lomé, Togo.

This meeting, which forms part of the perfect cooperative relations between the two Customs Administrations, has as its main objective to review the Memorandum of Understanding on Mutual Administrative Assistance in Customs Matters signed on 29 March 2013 between the Customs Administration of the Togolese Republic and the Customs Administration of the Republic of Benin.

The two officials of the customs administrations of Benin and Togo welcomed the excellent quality of the relations between the two countries and acknowledged the need to strengthen this cooperation in order to better secure the revenues of the two States.

Among other things, they called for the interconnection of the customs information systems of the two countries, the establishment of advanced customs offices in the ports of each party for the better management of the goods and the identification of entry points from them into their respective territories.

Taking into account some concerns expressed by the Togolese Party, both delegations agreed to postpone the signing of the Protocol to a subsequent meeting.

Furthermore, both parties agreed to avoid transhipments and load breaks during transit operations.

The Delegation of Benin Customs expressed its deep appreciation to the Togolese side for its warm welcome and for the signs of caution towards it.

DGDDI/COM.