ITC Visits Shippers’ Council on Optimising Trans-Border Trade Facilitation
Shippers’ Council Boss, Barrister Pius Akutah Ukeyima, plays host to a delegation from the International Trade Center
A delegation of the International Trade Center (ITC) in collaboration with the German Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ) paid a courtesy visit to the Nigerian Shippers’ Council as part of its studies to develop indeginous solutions for efficient trans-border trade facilitation in Africa.
The meeting, which held earlier today at the Nigerian Shippers’ Council headquarters in Lagos, brought together delegates of the ITC, top Directors of the Nigerian Shippers’ Council and stakeholders in the Nigerian shipping industry in a technical session to analyse the challenges to trade and possible solutions to promote seamless flow of trade across the continent.
Leading the discussions, Associate Programmes Officer, ITC, Mr. Richard Metoho, explained that as part of efforts to promote trade across the continent, the delegation is keen on identifying patterns which inhibit trade facilitation and address them by engaging relevant authorities within the continent.
He said: “The main objective of this meeting is to scale up trade facilitation that has been implemented in the ECOWAS region and in specific border crossing points.
“ECOWAS Agricultural Trade Programme is a programme that is projected to increase intra regional agricultural trade. We are carrying out a study to know the trade facilitation process. We thought it right to speak with Border Information Centers, Agencies especially in the two countries that are involved at the Seme/Krake border crossing points.
“We were also able to speak with the border communities and local government Chairmen and the Nigerian Shippers’ Council that have the infrastructure, the Border Information Center, at Seme/Krake border post.
“We have come here to also get more information from the Nigerian Shippers’ Council, more experiences and existing trade facilitation measures that can be improved and your recommendation on perhaps alternative trade facilitation measures that could as well solve the obstacles to trade at this border crossing point.”
In his remark, the Executive Secretary of the Nigerian Shippers’ Council, Mr. Pius Akutah Ukeyima, thanked the delegation for their visit and assured them of the Council’s commitment to leveraging partnerships for progress.
He further stated that while existing alliances exist between the NSC and other Shippers’ Councils across the continent, a key component for assessing the success of trade facilitation is the stakeholders’ experience. He therefore urged the delegation to look towards stakeholders’ enlightenment and engagement as a veritable tool towards achieving greater ease in trade.
He said: “In the current dispensation where Mr. President has created the Marine and Blue Economy with focus on developing non-oil export, this study will further strengthen our abilities and capacities in the border and informal trade.
“Also, we need the stakeholders engagement at the highest level. We have the union of African Shippers’ Council. This is a matter of partnership between our country and other neighbouring countries with whom we engage in trade.
“We need that partnership to develop and evolve into a partnership of trust where we can share ideas, good practices and experiences in our respective countries and that would help us to develop professionalism so that we can collaborate to work for the benefit of parties involved.”
The Executive Secretary encouraged Directors and stakeholders present to share their experiences and possible solutions to optimising trans-border trade flow.
Some of the recommendations shared by stakeholders present include; the need to onboard informal traders into formal trade to capture accurate trade data, strengthening the capacities of Border Information Centers through training and infrastructural development, granting incentives to female traders along the corridor such as credits and opening up flexible semi formal trader platforms for traders along the border corridor.
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