ISLAMABAD – Pakistan Single Window (PSW) organized a donor’s meeting at the PSW Islamabad headquarters to brief them on the implementation of the Single Window system. The meeting was attended by officials from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), the USAID funded Pakistan Regional Economic Integration Activity (PREIA), and the International Finance Corporation.
The participants were briefed on the implementation status of the Pakistan Single Window and were also given a walkthrough of the recently launched Trade Information Portal of Pakistan (TIPP). The briefing was followed by an interactive Q&A session focusing on PSW’s implementation strategy, finanical sustainability, and future plans.
The Pakistan Single Window allows parties involved in trade and transport to file standardized information and documents at a single entry point for all import, export, and transit-related regulatory requirements.
Around the world, bureaucratic processes that burden traders deter business and discourage exports. PSW expedites cross-border trade, enabling businesses to expand their operations, and the government to reduce unnecessary bureaucracy. The single window is a key trade facilitation tool that helps countries improve efficiencies in customs and regulatory clearances, increase the speed at which goods can move, and reduce the overall cost of trade.
The CEO of PSW Mr. Aftab Haider thanked the donor community for their significant support to PSW and said, “PSW has tremendously benefitted from multi donor support and collaboration who have provided technical and financial assistance on various components of the PSW. Strong program management by the PSW team has ensured that donor support to PSW development and implementation remains well coordinated and in sync.”
The Pakistan Single Window system began rolling out in July 2021 with Phase 1 scheduled for completion in June 2022 and is currently offering online customs registration, integration of the commercial banks with PSW system, and online processing of import permits, and Phyto-sanitary certificates on import, export of agricultural commodities by the Department of Plant Protection More than 44,000 traders are now registered with the system using it to access the WeBOC system as well as available services.
The participants appreciated the efforts of PSW, and the inclusive approach taken towards the implementation of the Single Window System particularly, small and medium enterprises, women owned businesses and private sector IT firms and businesses with whom PSW is currently exploring partnership opportunities for development of value-added products for traders and other stakeholders using the PSW platform. They also took a keen interest in the TIPP which provides a single point of access for all import, export, and transit related information for the guidance of traders, investors, and other stakeholders engaged in cross border trade with Pakistan.
Pakistan Single Window (PSW) is an initiative of Pakistan’s federal government with a focus of transforming the trade and industry ecosystem. The system is being developed and rolled out in phases by the PSW Company which is the notified ‘Operating entity’ for the PSW system under the provisions of the Pakistan Single Window Act, 2021
