KAZAKHSTAN STEPS CLOSER TO SUPPORT FOR A SINGLE-WINDOW FOR

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ASTANA 001428 SIPDIS STATE FOR SCA/CEN, EUR/ACE STATE PLEASE PASS TO USAID E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV PREL EAID ECON SOCI KZ SUBJECT: KAZAKHSTAN STEPS CLOSER TO SUPPORT FOR A SINGLE-WINDOW FOR IMPORTS AND EXPORTS ASTANA 00001428 001.2 OF 002 ¶1. SUMMARY: Since 2007, the USAID Regional Trade Liberalization and Customs Project, in cooperation with the German International Development Agency (GTZ),has encouraged the Governments of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan to implement electronic single-window systems to simplify the processes of obtaining the necessary certificates, licenses, quotas, permissions, and other documents required to import and export goods through Customs. On August 11, Kazakhstan, through its Vice-Chairman of the Customs Control Committee, announced its intention to implement the single-window system at a major conference on transportation and trade facilitation. Experiences from other countries with single-window systems demonstrate that considerable savings in time and financial cost can be achieved through the establishment of single-windows. END SUMMARY. BUILDING SUPPORT THROUGH EDUCATION ¶2. USAID and the German International Development Agency (GTZ) have worked closely to promote the implementation of the single-window system in Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan. USAID and GTZ built support for the single-window through presentations by commercial providers of single-window systems and conferences that presented the concept to both government officials and the private sector. USAID and GTZ organized study tours for Kazakhstani officials to Hamburg, Brussels, and Amsterdam in 2008, to Senegal in November 2008, and to the World Customs Organization (WCO) Conference on Single-Window and Trade Facilitation in Morocco in April 2009. ¶3. These study tours attracted senior government officials, including Customs Control Committee Chairman Kozy-Korpesh Karbuzov, who attended the World Customs Organization (WCO) Morocco conference this year, as well as the Committee's deputy chairman, who participated in a separate study tour to Sweden. These officials acknowledged that their understanding of the concept and the alternative ways of implementing single-window systems was greatly influenced by the various events sponsored by USAID and GTZ. ¶4. During a conference organized by the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) and the Ministry of Transport and Communications regarding transportation and trade facilitation, the Deputy Chairman of Customs Control Committee, Serzhan Duissebayev, announced Kazakhstan's intention to implement a single-window system for the import and export of goods in Kazakhstan. Based on various factors, including the experiences gained from the professional study tours, according to Duissebayev, Kazakhstan will adopt a model that is derived from the experiences of Sweden and Singapore. ¶5. While the Government has not determined which agency will oversee and implement the single-window, the Customs Control Committee, based upon instructions from the Office of the Prime Minister, appears to be the leading candidate. Instructions from the Prime Minster to the Ministry of Finance and the Customs Control Committee called for the establishment of a working group, to include all relevant agencies. This working group is to be chaired by the Customs Control Committee, and will analyze the potential for integration of information systems of the relevant government agencies with the information system of the Operative Management Center of the Customs Control Committee, which will lead to the introduction of the electronic single-window for customs registration and control. COMMITTING TO SINGLE-WINDOW - A BEGINNING ¶6. Kazakhstan's announcement that customs officials are ready to develop the single-window system will require modification of the Customs Modernization Project (CMP),currently underway with support from the World Bank. This process will lead directly to a detailed planning effort by the Government of Kazakhstan that will bring the single-window on-line. USAID will continue to provide key technical assistance to the Customs Control Committee on single-window through the CMP, including project management training, assistance in negotiating and entering contracts with commercial providers of ASTANA 00001428 002.2 OF 002 single-window systems, and expertise on specific issues at the request of the Customs Control Committee. HOAGLAND