DUSHANBE, July 27, 2016, Asia-Plus – A roundtable to discuss preparations for the start of work of the Coordinating Committee on Trade Facilitation (CCTF) of Tajikistan is taking place in Dushanbe today.
The Coordinating Committee on Trade Facilitation will be a state coordination body to simplify and harmonize the international trade procedures, according to International Trade Center (ITC) Office in Tajikistan.
Bringing together key public and private stakeholders the CCTF will play a pivotal role in facilitating border reforms with a view to reduce the time and cost of trade and open up new business opportunity for Tajikistan’s private sector.
Today, proposed members of the Coordinating Committee on Trade Facilitation, stakeholders, and the International Trade Centre experts gathered to discuss the operational modalities of the CCTF. The Committee’s obligations, requirements for its first meeting and frequency of meetings, interaction between different bodies of the committee and media, membership, and the first work plan are among the main topics in the round table agenda.
The CCTF will disseminate information on policy developments in trade facilitation, support the implementation of obligations arising out of the TFA, integrate private sector concerns into the formulation of policy on trade facilitation, serve as a conduit between national authorities and the WTO Trade Facilitation Committee, assist national authorities in determining priorities for donor support, provide policy guidance to relevant authorities including the Cabinet of Ministers, support public awareness of matters related to trade facilitation, monitor the implementation of obligations arising out of other bilateral agreements, and discuss the development of the E Facilitation Information and Enquiry Point.
The ITC continues supporting Tajikistan in establishing and operating the Coordinating Committee on Trade Facilitation. Establishment of this mechanism is required by the WTO as part of implementation of WTO’s Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA)’s provisions. The ITC assistance to Tajikistan’s post-WTO accession process has been provided under the Government of Switzerland funded Trade Cooperation Program in Tajikistan.
As part of this technical support, ITC expert Amer Durrani undertook a mission in Tajikistan and met Tajik authorities, the private sector, international organizations and the CCTF’s members to discuss the first steps of the CCTF, when the Committee will be launched.
The ITC, through this technical assistance project, is committed to support Tajikistan’s public and private sector in strengthening their knowledge of the opportunities and challenges stemming from the WTO membership.
