Accra — The 6th edition of the International Single Windows Conference and Exhibition was held in Accra, Ghana, on 3-5 October under the theme; 'Trade Facilitation Agreement and e-commerce development: The role of Single Window as Catalyst".
The meeting was organized by the African Alliance for Electronic Commerce (AAEC) and the Ghana Community Network Services (GCNet).
The conference brought together over 200 delegates from various stakeholders, including customs offices, trade ministries, the private sector, regional economic communities and international organizations
Ghana's Vice-President, Mahamadu Bawumia, who officially opened the conference, challenged participants to ensure that the outcome of the conference informed trade facilitation reform policies throughout the continent.
Mr. Bawumia described the timing of the conference as very appropriate, especially as Ghana was putting in place what he said were far reaching measures to improve its business environment and facilitate trade.
For his part, David Luke, Coordinator of the Africa Trade Policy Centre (ATPC) at the Economic Commission for Africa, noted that; "the emphasis on using single windows, trade facilitation and e-commerce to boost intra-African trade is timely as research at ECA showed that intra-African trade is especially valuable for Africa's industrialization".
These themes were developed in a presentation by Jamie MacLeod, Trade Policy Fellow at the ATPC, which focused on the rise of e-commerce, the challenges and opportunities this brings, as well as the recommendation that these issues be addressed within an African Digital Industrialization Strategy.
This would outline a strategic vision for how e-commerce can be nurtured to meet Africa's development goals including through leveraging phase two of the Continental Free Trade Area (CFTA) negotiations to explore trading arrangements to establish e-commerce compatibility and interoperability across Africa.
A centrepiece of the conference included a presentation of the new AACE "Practical Implementation Guide of Single Windows for Foreign Trade".
This is a joint initiative with ATPC and draws upon best practices across Africa to provide recommendations on how countries can institute single window customs systems, including highlighting necessary preconditions, various business models for single windows, best governance practices, and performance evaluation mechanisms.
In closing remarks at the end of the conference, Mr. Luke also emphasized that more needs to be done to help African micro, small and medium-sized businesses access international e-commerce platforms and the need for an African e-commerce strategy.
The conference was officially closed by Ghana's Deputy Minister of Trade and Industry, Robert Ahomkah-Lindsay.
