Ministers attend inaugural Inter-Ministerial Committee Meeting on Single Electronic Window.
Senator the Honourable Paula Gopee-Scoon, Minister of Trade and Industry chaired the Inaugural Inter-Ministerial Committee Meeting for the Strengthening of the Single Electronic Window (SEW) for Trade and Business Facilitation on Wednesday July 20, 2016 at the Ministry’s Head Office.
In her first Address to the Committee, Minister Gopee-Scoon stated that ‘the Strengthening of the Single Electronic Window for Trade and Business Facilitation Project will seek to improve the trade performance and business facilitation environment in our country’. Minister Gopee-Scoon praised the TTBizLink services for the work done thus far and called for more work to be done to improve Trinidad and Tobago’s ‘Ease of Doing Business’ ranking and the country’s competitiveness.
She emphasised that ‘the interoperability between Ministries and the involvement of the Customs and Excise Division is pivotal to the success of the project’. She noted that the project includes three important components.
Firstly, enhancing and expanding the services of the SEW which will focus on upgrading the current SEW to international best practices. Secondly, the enhancing of the interoperability of SEW by the exchange and analysis of data between the SEW and the information systems at the Ports at Port of Spain and Point Lisas and the Customs and Excise Division, as well as the information systems of strategic trading partners of Trinidad and Tobago. Thirdly, the modernization of the governance and the institutional framework of the SEW which will modernize the governance and institutional framework of the SEW by addressing the deficiencies in the regulatory framework, process architecture, and strengthen the institutional governance of the SEW.
Mr. Randall Karim, Director-Strategy, Business Facilitation and Programme Management, Ministry of Trade and Industry gave a detailed presentation on the ‘Introduction to the Strengthening of the SEW Project’. The strengthening of the Single Electronic Window Project is an Inter-American Development Bank-funded Project undertaken to support the enhancement and expansion of the current Single Window.
Involved in the detailed and extensive two hour discussions were the Honourable Terrance Deyalsingh, Minister of Health; the Honourable Fitzgerald Hinds, Minister of Works and Transport; and the Honourable Maxie Cuffie, Minister of Public Administration and Communications; Mr. Glen Singh, Comptroller of Customs; Mr Jerry Hospedales, Ministry of Finance; and Mrs. Walda Dottin-Matthews, Advisor to the Minister, Ministry of Planning and Development.
Other members of the Committee include the Honourable Colm Imbert, Minister of Finance; Senator the Honourable Clarence Rambharat, Minister of Agriculture, Land and Fisheries; and the Honourable Stuart Young, Minister in the Ministry of the Attorney General and Legal Affairs.
