The Global Trade Facilitation Programme (GTFP), is an initiative funded by the Switzerland’s State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO). The Programme is implemented and managed by the World Customs Organization (WCO), and is currently in the inception phase. The objective of the Programme is to contribute to fostering and facilitating international trade through strengthening compliance management through international standards and best practices involving the importation, exportation and transit of commercial goods. The Programme Management Team, recently installed at the WCO Secretariat in Brussels, has now started delivering the activities outlined for the first six months of the project.
During this period, four beneficiary countries – Bolivia, Colombia, Peru and Uzbekistan – will benefit from diagnostic missions on trade facilitation and organizational development. The WCO experts will carry out an analysis of the processes and procedures utilized by the beneficiary CAs and assess their compliance with the World Trade Organization (WTO) Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA) in order to design a tailor-made plan of technical assistance according to the needs and gaps identified. In addition to the technical activities, the Programme will deliver a set of activities addressing organizational development issues such as leadership and management development, strategic planning, and human resources management.
On 24 May 2019, the GTFP held a regional information event in Lima, hosted by the CA of Peru, SUNAT. The event was attended by senior Customs administrators of Peru, Colombia, and Bolivia: the Deputy National Superintendent of Peruvian Customs, Mr. Rafael Garcia Melgar, the Director of Customs Management of Colombia, Mrs. Ingrid Diaz and the Executive President of the CA of Bolivia, Mrs. Marlene Ardaya Vasquez. SECO was represented by Mr. Mauricio Chiaravalli, Senior Officer from SECO’s cooperation office in Peru, who provided the introductory remarks.
This occasion provided the opportunity to present to the CAs in the Latin American beneficiary countries the scope, objectives and planned activities of the Programme. There was a strong interest from all parties in becoming part of the GTFP. The interest was exemplified by the joint commitment to the overall objective and outcomes of the Programme.
For more information on the GTFP please contact capacity.building@wcoomd.org