Trade Facilitation: Capacity Building Program for Egypt and other countries in the region

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Short description

This program highlights three aspects of trade facilitation:

1. customs reform
2. standards
3. logistics (including port management and information networks)

In each of these three areas the program includes an analytical presentation illustrated with international and regional best-practice case studies.

Type

Capacity building

URL

htt://

Topics

A Business Prospective on Capacity Building for Trade Facilitation , Customs Issues , Customs modernisation , Economic Development and Trade Facilitation , Electronic commerce and business , Information technology for Customs , Measuring the economic impact of trade facilitation , Other Trade Facilitation Aspects , Paperless trade , Phytosanitary control , Standards and Conformity Assessment , Trade Liberalization and Facilitation , Trade logistics and developing countries , Trade Logistics and Facilitation , Trade Logistics practical measures , Use of ICT for Facilitation , WCO Columbus Program

Goals

To alert senior policy makers to the alternative manners in which existing policies can be administered, making it significantly easier to cross borders, thus facilitating trade. A secondary objective of the course is to identify future follow up activities in the areas of customs reform, product and process standards and logistics. These follow up activities would have a more technical nature for a different audience.

Scope and activities

The importance of trade facilitation is increasingly recognized as a necessary element to allow for the smooth flow of goods across borders. Trade facilitation is important in all trade but in particular for trade that is conducted under regional and preferential trading arrangements.

The Program was organized by the World Bank Institute in Ein El Sokhna, Egypt and received generous financial support from the Canadian International Development Agency in Egypt. Representatives of the following groups were invited to participate in the workshop; government officials (one third), the private sector (one third) and academia (up to one third) as well as some representatives of the media. Most of the participants were coming from Egypt but also representatives from Yemen, Lebanon and Syria were invited.

WORKSHOP AGENDA

Measurement of trade facilitation and its impact on trade flows

        Farrukh Iqbal, World Bank      

Trade facilitation in the region

        Nabil Safwat, UNESCWA

Trade facilitation in the WTO 

        Mohsen Helal,  UNESCWA   

Customs

Custom reform projects supported by the World Bank

        Michel Zarnowiecki, World Bank        

Customs reform;  World Bank experience 

        Michel Zarnowiecki, World Bank

Challenges and opportunities of customs reform and trade facilitation: Jordan’s experience

        Taysee Younis, Government of Jordan

Challenges and opportunities of customs reform and trade facilitation: Egypt’s experience with addressing policy issues

        Adel Iskandar, Government of Egypt

Challenges and opportunities of customs reform and trade facilitation: Egypt’s experience with implementing the reform

        Adel Radwan, Government of Egypt

Standards Setting and Compliance Testing

Overview of the role of domestic institutions in standards setting and testing whether goods and services comply with these standards

        Professor Spencer Henson of Guelph University, Canada

Assessment of Egypt's Compliance with the WTO TBT Agreement

        Ms. Sahar Tohamy

Case study: Morocco’s tomato exports to the EU

        Omar Aloui, Agroconcept, Morocco

Case study: Kenya’s horticultural exports

        Professor Spensor Henson

Case study Egypt: a private sector perspective on exports of fruit and horticultural products

        Mr. Wael Shinnawy, Horticulture Export and Improvement Association

Logistics

Logistics, the role of the private and the public sector in port management

        Bert Kruk, World Bank Port Advisor              

National Trade and Transport Facilitation Committees in the Region

        Mr. Nabil Safwat, UNESCWA

The current role of the private sector in Egypt’s ports and airports: prospects for reform and privatization

        Dr. Ismail Mubarak, the port of Eil El Sokhna)             

Visit to the port of Ein El Sokhna

Information networks, WTO perspectives and conclusion

Information sharing between private logistics companies, customs and other public sector agencies

        Hamid Alavi, World Bank

Case study: Tunisia’s information sharing network

        Karim Gharbi, Director of Tunisie Trade Net

Start / End date

from Apr 17, 2004 to Apr 20, 2004

Status

Past

Main contact

Monica Alina Mustra

Partners

World Bank

Lead Partners

World Bank

Geographic coverage

Regions:
Countries: Tunisia , Jordan , Egypt , Syria , Yemen
Global: Yes

Events

Third Executive Forum on Trade Facilitation - Paperless Trade in International Supply Chains: Enhancing Efficiency and Security

Fully online

No

Selected Activity

No