THE UNITED Nations Conference on Trade and Development is calling for more countries to appoint “transit co-ordinators” to facilitate global trade.
UNCTAD said the Trade Facilitation Agreement of the World Trade Organization encourages countries to appoint national co-ordinators to oversee the movement of goods in transit, but as of April 2023, only three WTO members had officially nominated co-ordinators.
A transit co-ordinator may, for example, balance the need to reduce formalities and delays while ensuring the freedom of transit is not abused for smuggling or fraud.
UNCTAD said stronger co-operation is needed globally and regionally to help trade flow as freely as possible.
“It’s in countries’ interest to appoint coordinators and then let others know about them for better cross-border co-ordination,” head of UNCTAD’s trade logistics branch Jan Hoffmann said.
The number of transit co-ordinators recently increased following a month-long training course for 61 new co-ordinators from 12 countries across Africa and Latin America.
The training concluded with an event on 20 April at UN headquarters in New York, where UNCTAD called for stronger participation.
“These efforts are part of an UNCTAD-led program dedicated to national transit co-ordinators,” UNCTAD said.
“It provides in-person and remote capacity-building, boosting national expertise on cross-border transit challenges facing developing and least developed countries.
“Solutions to the challenges that co-ordinators face can include measures such as implementing a multi-country transit guarantee scheme, establishing a data exchange system for transit operations, or promoting an international transport and transit corridor – all requiring closer collaboration among neighbouring countries.”
