During the WTO Trade Facilitation Committee meeting, Nurbek Maksutov, Head of Mission of the Ministry of Economy and Trade of the Kyrgyz Republic, who is the Deputy Chairman of the Bureau of the UN Centre for Trade Facilitation and Electronic Business (UN/CEFACT), presented the draft Toolkit on Digital and Sustainable Trade Facilitation along Transit Corridors.

The aim of this project is to develop policy recommendations that will help UN member states to improve digital and sustainable trade along the Central Trans-Caspian Corridor.

Nurbek Maksutov informed the meeting that the first phase of the project will focus on identifying key issues and infrastructure gaps that impede the smooth functioning of transit procedures and information exchange along the corridors. These barriers adversely affect trade competitiveness, particularly for landlocked developing countries.

«The project will also develop guidelines for the implementation of the CEFACT/UN information exchange standards package that supports the digital transformation of cross-border trade. ‘These guidelines will be tested in a pilot mode to ensure their effectiveness and relevance», — he said.

He also proposed another project related to a multimodal transport corridor in collaboration with the World Trade Centre (WTC).

As Nurbek Maksutov noted at the beginning of his speech, this project aims to help strengthen ties between the European Union (EU) and Central Asia. The project aims to improve the efficiency of the Trans-Caspian Transport Corridor (TCTC) and help developing and landlocked Central Asian countries to integrate into global value chains.

These objectives will be realised through the project in the following ways: attracting trade and sustainable investment by simplifying cross-border formalities in Central Asia; strengthening trade and transport links by improving regional coordination among Central Asian countries. As well as by enhancing the competitiveness of small and medium-sized businesses to facilitate access to regional and European markets by utilising the Trans-Caspian Transport Corridor.

The project is implemented by one of the main partners, the ESF, in close co-operation with the national governments of the Central Asian countries. It builds on the national and regional reforms initiated under the Ready4Trade Central Asia (2020-2024) project.