WCO participates in the 2017 Single Window conference

The Ghana Revenue Authority organized its Ghana National Single Window (GNSW) Conference in Accra 9 and 10 May. In the opening session of the first day of the Conference, attended by over 500 participants, Mr. Alan Kyeremanten, Minister of Trade and Industry mentioned that Trade Facilitation is a cornerstone of the Government's agenda.

He lauded the inclusion of the Single Window (SW) in the WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA) and said it would help simplify trade processes and enhance the cooperation between Customs and other Border Agencies.

In a speech read out on his behalf Mr. Ofori-Atta, Minister for Finance urged the trading community to fully embrace the new transparency and compliance level developed through the introduction of the GNSW. Other keynote speakers were SG Kituyi of UNCTAD, Deputy DG Agah of WTO, Executive Chairman Banda of ICC Ghana, Customs Commissioner Crenstil and CEO ms.

Mintah of Westblue Consulting. They all highlighted the importance of the GNSW programme in the context of implementing TFA.

During this day in panel sessions speakers focused on the strategic and technical aspects of GNSW Progress and its Achievements to date, GNSW in the Context of the WTO TFA and the Trade Development aspects of GNSW.

On behalf of WCO Deputy Director Luc de Blieck highlighted WCO’s tools and instruments to support a succesfull implementation of SW and of TFA in general.

Further contributions in the panel sessions were delivered by, among others, Ghana Customs, Ghana National Trade Facilitation Committee, Rwanda Revenue Authority, WTO, Global Alliance for Trade Facilitation, Ghana Export Promotion Authority, Ghana Union of Traders Association and Ghana Investment Promotion. All speakers concentrated on aspects of the TFA implementation in general and the SW requirements in particular.

Among the aspects highlighted were the further development of the digital environment GNSW requires, the strengthening of Coordinated Border Management and Stakeholder Engagement.

The second day was a Key Stakeholder Workshop where the private sector was offered the opportunity to share with governement officials their experiences with and expectations for GNSW. This workshop was attended by over 100 business representatives.