West Africa’s Fifth Border Information Center Set To Tackle Delays, Costs

Elubo, Côte d'Ivoire, May 23, 2013 -The Ministers of Transport of Côte d'Ivoire and Ghana, joined by the U.S. Ambassador to Côte d'Ivoire and the U.S. Ambassador to Ghana, today launched the fifth Border Information Center in West Africa.

'Economic growth is a key pillar to the U.S. Government's Africa development policy,' said U.S. Ambassador Phillip Carter III. 'The Border Information Center initiative, launched with ECOWAS and other partners, represents our commitment to working alongside African countries to promote and advance sustained economic development and growth.'

The USAID Business Environments for Agile Markets and the USAID West Africa Trade Hub, in close collaboration with the Ivoirian Shippers' Council and the Ghana Shippers' Authority, are implementing the new Center. The Borderless Alliance, a private sector-led coalition of regional trading companies established in 2011, also supports the centers.

The new Center provides practical information to traders where they need it most - at the border. The Border Information Center is modeled on the successful Border Information Centers at the borders of Benin-Nigeria, Burkina Faso-Ghana, Ghana-Togo, and at Senegal's Port of Dakar. The Centers have helped stakeholders identify causes of delays and harassment, and driven action to significantly reduce such delays and harassment.

The Shippers' Councils in Côte d'Ivoire and Ghana are hosting the new Center.

The new Center is now open Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. More information is available at www.borderlesswa.com.

The Borderless Alliance is a broad coalition of public and private sector partners committed to increasing trade in West Africa.

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