The regional WTO SPS workshop for French-speaking Africa concluded in Rabat, aiming to improve officials' understanding and implementation of transparency obligations under the SPS Agreement. The agreement focuses on food safety and animal and plant health regulations, encouraging national measures aligned with international standards.
Participants from several African countries, including Angola, Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Comoros, Congo, Côte d'Ivoire, Djibouti, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Guinea, Madagascar, Mali, Mauritania, Morocco, Niger, Senegal, Togo, and Tunisia attended the event.
Throughout the week-long workshop, attendees tackled practical issues related to the SPS Agreement's implementation. They discussed contributing to the SPS Committee and considered a mentoring system to assist developing members. The use of the ePing SPS&TBT Platform was emphasized for meeting transparency obligations. Participants also shared experiences about their domestic organizations to identify common challenges and good practices.
ONSSA introduced new initiatives for South-South coordination on SPS matters. The STDF provided support by sharing good practices and helping countries benefit from its projects. The AfCFTA secretariat presented on implementing SPS transparency at a continental level.
Knowledge was shared by standard-setting bodies like WOAH, IPPC, and Codex Alimentarius. A guest speaker from Côte d'Ivoire highlighted his engagement with the WTO SPS Committee and discussed contributions to reaching SPS Ministerial Declarations at recent conferences.
Dr Abdelkarim Moujanni of ONSSA praised the event for enhancing notification skills and cooperation with the WTO Secretariat: "The focus on the functionalities and benefits of ePing was particularly insightful." Ms Karamatou Wabi Agbe from Benin highlighted the workshop's role in "re-dynamizing notification processes at the domestic level in represented African countries."