From 3 to 5 June 2024, the SECO-WCO Global Trade Facilitation Programme (GTFP) conducted a planning and initiation mission, including a multi-stakeholder workshop, in Chișinău, Moldova. The mission aimed to gather input and feedback from all stakeholders regarding trade facilitation opportunities and ultimately identify potential areas of support in Moldova for the upcoming four years of assistance within GTFP´s Phase II (2024-2027).

During the mission, bilateral meetings were held with representatives of the Swiss Cooperation Office in the country, the Customs Service of the Republic of Moldova (CSM), the Ministry of Economic Development and Digitalization, the Economic Council, and the business community, to review specific trade facilitation needs and priorities.

Embracing a collaborative approach, the GTFP team facilitated an insightful stakeholder workshop on 4 June. Twenty participants from the public and private sectors discussed potential actions and activities to enhance the CSM's organizational and technical capacities, ensuring alignment with national priorities and the country’s needs. Their valuable input was captured in an initial roadmap of the GTFP´s support in Moldova, emphasizing their integral role in shaping the future of trade facilitation in the country.

The GTFP Phase II, a significant initiative funded by the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs of Switzerland (SECO), is set to boost the capacities of beneficiary Customs administrations. This joint initiative empowers them to lead, plan, and implement sustainable and transparent Customs reforms, fostering greater involvement from the private sector and key stakeholders and applying international standards and best practices related to trade facilitation, particularly those of the WCO and the World Trade Organization (WTO).

For more information on the GTFP, please contact capacity.building@wcoomd.org