Chaired by Mr. Hamadou SAWADOGO, President of the Regional Consular Delegation of Central Plateau, representing the President of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Burkina Faso (CCI-BF), the opening ceremony was attended by strong delegations the seven (07) Regional Directorates of Customs, members of the Board of Directors of the Customs Administration, members of the Consular Office of CCI-BF, officials of the Consular Institution and heads of Associations and Professional Groups private sector of Burkina Faso.

To magnify and celebrate the quality of the working relations maintained by the two institutions was the objective assigned to this day. Indeed, since many years, the two structures collaborate in perfect synergy for the economic and social development of Burkina Faso.

"The beginning of the partnership between the Customs Administration and the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Burkina Faso goes back to the 1950s, with the first realizations of bonded infrastructure, notably the collector's bonded warehouse in the Ouagadougou railway station. in 1954. This led to the first generation of stores and customs clearance areas called "Brasilia 1 and Brasilia 2" at the railway station in Ouagadougou, those relating to the Guarantee Fund in 1964, customs forms, weighing by weighbridge in 2008, "said Mr. Issaka KARGOUGOU, Director General of CCI-BF.

"Historically, our administrations have had excellent relations of partnership that were held in an informal setting," adds Mr. Alassane William KABORE, Deputy Director General of Customs. This is why, faced with the many challenges related to the modernization of procedures, the increase in the number of staff and the reforms undertaken both at subregional and inter-African level, it was imperative for the two institutions to formalize their partnership; thus, on December 8, 2017, the signing of a partnership agreement between Customs and CCI-BF whose main objective is the consolidation and revitalization of their relations; the purpose of this partnership is the conduct of concerted actions for the benefit of Burkina Faso's private sector (promotion of the private sector, facilitation of commercial exchanges, improvement of the business climate, security of customs and consular revenues, etc.).

The day of valorization of the partnership was punctuated with communications in particular on the history and the state of the places of the cooperation between the two Institutions, the examination of the challenges of the moment and the definition of the perspectives of collaboration.

Taking advantage of the presence of certain predecessors and resource persons (former Directors General of Customs and CCI-BF executives), the participants were treated to rich testimonials magnifying the excellence of the relations between the customs and the private sector. Important projects were jointly carried out in this case the Office of Verification of motor vehicles (BVA), the Tanghin Dassouri transit center and the installation of weighbridges in the borders.

After the exchanges and the sharing of experience, the participants wished and obtained the institutionalization of the day of the partnership, convinced that the partnership between the Customs and the Chamber of Commerce will remain an operational tandem for the economic prosperity of Burkina Faso Faso!