Regional Workshop on Trade Information Portals underway in Nairobi
East African Community Headquarters, Arusha, Tanzania, November 21st, 2017:
A two-day regional workshop on the establishment of Trade Information Portals (TIPs) organised by the EAC Secretariat in collaboration with the TradeMark East Africa (TMEA) and the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) is currently underway at Crowne Plaza hotel in Nairobi, Kenya.
Themed “Harnessing transparent trade information for effective trade facilitation in the East African Community,” which will run from 21st to 22nd November, 2017, the objective of the workshop is to assess the progress made in terms of the implementation of TIPs, and to identify how TIPs can best support and help monitor the implementation of national and regional trade facilitation agendas.
The workshop, among other things, specifically seeks to provide a forum for member states to share current status, challenges and achievements on the implementation of TIPs. The workshop will further formulate a regional Trade Facilitation Index and measurable targets for the online publication and simplification of trade procedures.
Also on the agenda of the Workshop will be the public launch of the Kenya Trade Information Portal hosted by the Kenya Trade Network Agency (KenTrade) which is scheduled for the morning of Wednesday, 22nd November, 2017.
Participants at the workshop are drawn from each EAC Partner State’s National Trade Facilitation Committee, Single Window Project Coordinator/Customs Officer and the TIPs Project Coordinators.
Note for Editors:
The World Trade Organization (WTO) Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA), adopted by the WTO General Council on 27th November, 2014 came into force on 22nd February, 2017. The TFA aims to create a more efficient trade environment by targeting administrative barriers to trade – unnecessary border inspections, excessive document and data requirements, manual processes, lack of coordination among border authorities and complex and inefficient rules and procedures.
The EAC Secretariat has partnered with UNCTAD to assist, with the financial support of TMEA, EAC Member States efforts to comply with, and benefit from, the provisions of the TFA through a Trade Facilitation Programme. One of the Programme’s key objectives is to increase the transparency of trade procedures by supporting the establishment of national Trade Information Portals (TIP). TIPs are currently being installed in Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda while the TIP will be implemented on a larger scale at a later stage in Burundi and South Sudan.
Once they are fully operational under the supervision of the National Trade Facilitation Committee (NTFC), TIPs are expected to provide trade operators with all the necessary regulatory and practical information on import, export and transit procedures, and governments with a powerful tool to simplify procedures and to support improved national trade facilitation policies.
-ENDS-
For more information, please contact:
Mr Owora Richard Othieno
Head, Corporate Communications and Public Affairs Department
EAC Secretariat
Arusha, Tanzania
Tel: +255 784 835021
Email: OOthieno [at] eachq.org
About the East African Community Secretariat:
The East African Community (EAC) is a regional intergovernmental organisation of five Partner States, comprising Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda, with its headquarters in Arusha, Tanzania.
The EAC Secretariat is ISO 2008:9001 Certified