Kazakhstan aims to shift towards paperless cross-border trade
The preliminary results of the readiness of the Republic of Kazakhstan for the transition to cross-border paperless trade were presented today in Nur-Sultan.
The event was organized by QazTrade in collaboration with the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP). The meeting was attended by government agencies, participants in foreign economic activity and international experts.
As the General Director of QazTrade JSC Azamat Askaruly noted, "the period of the pandemic has shown how important the digitalization of all business processes and the accelerated transition to electronic cross-border trade are." At the same time, the transfer of the traditionally paper workflow to electronic format "helps to speed up trade procedures, reduce the costs of doing business and increase export earnings, which will have a positive effect on the economic development of the country."
A study of the assessment of the readiness of the Republic of Kazakhstan to transition to cross-border paperless trade was launched in August 2021, with the cooperation of ESCAP and with the support of the Ministry of Trade and Integration.
The purpose of the study is to assess the technical and legal readiness of Kazakhstan for cross-border paperless trade, identify existing gaps, develop recommendations and an Action Plan to eliminate such gaps and move to cross-border paperless trade.
The results of the study, formed into the National Report of Kazakhstan on the assessment of the technical and legal readiness of the Republic of Kazakhstan for cross-border paperless trade, recommendations and the Action Plan will be published on the official website of ESCAP.
As noted by QazTrade, the integration of Kazakhstan into the international trading system will require the introduction of new technologies or standards in trading processes. At the same time, it is necessary to develop mechanisms for a gradual transition in order to eliminate negative effects and avoid disruptions in the work of participants in the supply chain.
«The implementation of the ESCAP study on assessing the readiness for cross-border paperless trade of the economies of countries in the Asia-Pacific region will allow to assess the technical and legal readiness of Kazakhstan for cross-border paperless trade and develop recommendations and a concrete plan to simplify cross-border trade procedures», - explained Nurlan Kulbatyrov, Deputy General Director of QazTrade JSC.
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ESCAP is a regional United Nations organization established for the development of Asia and the Pacific. The organization consists of 53 members, including Kazakhstan. ESCAP focuses on regional cooperation in areas such as macroeconomic policy and development, trade and investment, and transport.
ESCAP actively promotes and supports its members to develop cross-border paperless trade in the Asia-Pacific region. ESCAP studies show that a shift to cross-border paperless trade could result in more than $ 257 billion in export revenue growth per year across the Asia-Pacific region. The time required for export can be reduced by more than 40% and costs can be cut by 30%.
Kazakhstan, having become a member of the WTO, also became a Party to the WTO Agreement on Trade Facilitation (hereinafter - the TFA) and the UN Global Review on Digital and Sustainable Trade Facilitation. The agreement provides for measures to facilitate trade such as transparency and openness, stability of the rules, protection of the rights and legitimate interests of participants in foreign economic activity, acceleration of customs formalities, reduction of documentation requirements, simplified transit procedures, customs cooperation, etc.
According to the UN Global Report on Facilitation of Digital and Sustainable Trade, Kazakhstan has achieved significant results in the implementation of trade facilitation measures for the period 2017-2021.
In terms of the implementation of the recommended trade facilitation measures, Kazakhstan (72.04%) ranks slightly above the average for the Asia-Pacific region (65.85%), as well as above the level of implementation in North and Central Asia (71.37%).
Most progress has been achieved in the WTO TFA indicators: Women's Interests in Trade Facilitation, Agricultural Trade Facilitation, Trade Facilitation for SMEs, Cross-Border Paperless Trade and Paperless Trade.