By Eric Elezuo
The Cameroon’s Single Window For Foreign Trade (GUCE), in conjunction with African Alliance for e-Commerce (AAEC), a framework to promote national and regional single windows in compliance with recommendations of international institutions, is set host the 7th edition of the Single Window Conference & Exhibition (SWC).
The event, set to run between September 17th and 19th at the Yaounde Conference Center, is expected to challenge the future of intra-African trade.
Expected to attend are all stakeholders in external trade, transports and logistics industries in Africa. The President of the Republic of Cameroon, HE Paul Biya and the leadership of the AACE and GUCE will also grace the events.
The main focus of the Single Window Conference & Exhibition will be on unlocking e-commerce potential and optimizing international supply chain of landlocked countries, and will also aim at tackling topics like intra-African trade initiatives and challenges, trade facilitation instruments for landlocked countries or disruptive logistics and innovative startups.
Also expected are representatives from more than twenty African countries along with development partners and international organizations involved in trade facilitation including the World Bank, the African Union Commission, the African Development Bank, the World Bank, the World Trade Organization, the World Customs Organization, UNCTAD, and ECOWAS.
Speaking about the conference, AAEC president and chairman of the GUCE, Isidore Bayiha, said: “Integrating innovation into the supply chain must be a priority for us as trade leading stakeholders. We can no longer wait. Digital technologies are top priority to make Single Windows powerful tools at the service of our states, to contribute to the competitiveness of African economies and help intra-African trade take off.”
Among activities lined up for the three-day event include giving a glimpse into the future of logistics on the continent.
Also on line up are prestigious local & international speakers from the UN, the World Bank, the African Union Commission, ECCAS, ECOWAS, JUMIA, or ALIBABA, who will discuss the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), opportunities for single windows and e-commerce, major challenges of intra-african trade and how to boost it.
A day is also set aside to focus on trade facilitation, opportunities and challenges of single windows implementation and initiatives to enhance the supply chain, specifically for landlocked countries in CEMAC.
Finally, all recommendations gathered during the three days will be summarized and lectured on the last day of the event – September 19th.