On March 18-19, 2025, the West African Tax Administration Forum (WATAF) held a meeting on “Country Correspondents Conference and Training for Heads of Corporate Communications” in Abuja, Nigeria.

Within the framework of this meeting, CIAT shared its experience on the role of communication and focal points for institutional development with representatives of West African tax administrations.

As a result of this activity, good practices and critical points that deserve to be addressed by regional tax organizations were identified, among them:

• • To get to know the member countries in order to provide personalized attention through official contacts.
• • Keep correspondents updated on the products and services offered by international organizations, providing clear instructions on the role of the correspondent in each case.
• • Effectively transmit to new employees the institutional culture and the procedures or rules governing internal and external communications.
• • Effectively manage the rotation of focal points in tax administrations and members of thematic networks.
• • Maintaining a neutral position on political issues
• • Make use of new technologies to provide agile communication channels.
• • Monitor the performance of the different communication and dissemination channels to obtain feedback for informed decision-making when designing communication or dissemination strategies.
• • Systematize aspects related to the design and use of the institutional brand as part of the communication strategy.

On the last day of the mission, CIAT visited the WATAF offices and exchanged ideas with its Executive Secretary, Mr. Jules Tapsoba, on possible joint actions and the advisability of signing a cooperation agreement.

CIAT thanks Dr Zacch A. Adedeji, chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) of Nigeria and the team of WATAF for their warm reception and cooperation.