DUSHANBE, January 29, Asia-Plus — $ 1million will go to working out the Single Window Concept in Tajikistan, Marouf Sayfiyev, the first deputy head of the State Committee for Investments and Management of State-owned Property, remarked at a press conference in Dushanbe on January 28.
According to him, this amount is provided within the framework of Tajikistan’s Private Sector Development Strategy, which is being implemented under financial support of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the European Commission. A grant package of $2.9 million is aimed at boosting Tajik government’s capacity in promoting private sector development, Sayfiyev said.
He noted that provided $1 million would primarily go to supporting development of institutional potentials of ministries and organizations, involved in working out the Single Window Concept, and paying services of international consultants.
The Single Window System is a trade facilitation idea. As such, the implementation of a single window system enables international (cross-border) traders to submit regulatory documents at a single location and/or single entity. Such documents are typically customs declarations, applications for import/export permits, and other supporting documents such as certificates of origin and trading invoices.
The main value proposition for having a Single Window for a country or economy is to increase the efficiency through time and cost savings for traders in their dealings with various government authorities for obtaining the relevant clearance and permit(s) for moving cargoes across national or economic borders. In a traditional pre-Single Window environment, traders may have had to contend with visits and dealings with multiple government agencies in multiple locations in order to obtain the necessary papers, permits and clearance in order to complete their import or export processes.
The concept is recognized and promoted by several world organizations that are concerned with trade facilitation. Among them are the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) and its Center for Trade Facilitation and Electronic Business (UNCEFACT), World Customs Organization (WCO), SITPRO Limited of the United Kingdom and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).
In the meantime, according to the State Committee for Investments and Management of State-owned Property, as of December 31, 2007, an amount of drawn credit portfolios in Tajikistan has exceeded $631 million, which is 40 percent of a total amount of Tajikistan’s investment portfolio, which amounted, as of December 31, 2007, to $1,368,319,000. The totaled includes $1.0664 billion in loans, $160,800 in grants, $99,500 of budgetary funds and $40,500 were provided from other sources.
