The official launch of the Jordan Trade Facilitation Portal (JTFP) aiming to support trade, back services’ digital transformation, improve the investment environment and boost Jordanian SMEs competitiveness, took place recently. 

 

JTFP was implemented within the framework of "Improving the Business Environment for SMEs through Trade Facilitation Project", which is jointly implemented by the International Trade Centre (ITC), the Jordanian Government and the German Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ) and funded by the German Federal Ministry Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and the Kingdom of the Netherlands.

 

The JTFP covers two functionalities. The first one refers to a Step-by-Step Guide on the 72 import, export and transit products described from trader point of view where 3,700 steps were mapped in collaboration with more than 48 agencies and departments and described in terms of contact members, requirements, cost, duration, and legal references. 

 

The second functionality is the Trade Facilitation Repository which consolidates and presents information about more than 900 services from eight agencies in an organised and easily accessible manner in English and Arabic. 

 

It contains all the information the trader needs, including legal frameworks, agreements, rules of origin, and fees of services, as well as other relevant information in an efficient, streamlined, and transparent way.

 

For a full automated interactive experience, a Chatbot Service is hosted on the JTFP. It accompanies users and helps them find the information they seek in both Arabic and English via text or voice input.

 

In his opening statement, General Jalal Al-Qadhah, Director General of Customs, stated that JTFP is implemented to support the government's aspirations to support trade, support services’ digital transformation, improve the investment environment and boost Jordanian SMEs competitiveness. 

 

Raghad Al-Tali, the Project Manager from the International Trade Centre, noted that JTFP is a tool to not only enhance transparency and access to information, but also to promote border agency cooperation and public-private dialogue. It should also serve as an important tool for reviewing and reforming the complexity of procedures on a continuous basis enhancing therefore the business competitiveness.

 

The launch included a panel discussion entitled "The role of enhanced transparency of trade-related information for business competitiveness in Jordan" with a particular focus on the importance export, import and transit related information availability to boost the international trade in Jordan. 

 

The panelists presented current and future initiatives developed by the public and private support agencies to ensure the transparency and access to information.-- TradeArabia News Service