Ivory Coast abolished its customs visa requirement with Mali and Burkina Faso on 11 April, a move aimed at cutting red tape and reducing transit times for goods travelling between the landlocked Sahel nations and the Ivorian coast. Logistics experts say the change could save truckers up to 48 hours at border crossings, while slashing costs tied to lengthy paperwork, parking fees, and informal payments at checkpoints along the route from the port of Abidjan. The measure is seen as particularly significant given that Mali ranked third among Ivory Coast's export markets in 2024, accounting for roughly $1.5 billion in trade, with Burkina Faso receiving around $800 million in Ivorian exports the same year.