Under the auspices of Kuwaiti Minister of Transport Maasouma Saleh Al Mubarak, UN-ESCWA, in cooperation with the Ministry of Transport, is holding a national workshop on International Goods Transport Facilitation in Kuwait that will take place at the General Directorate of Customs, Shuweikh, on 29 November 2006. This meeting is part of the United Nations Development Account project “Capacity-Building through Cooperation in Developing Inter-Regional Land and Land-Cum-Sea Transport Linkages”. The Project is jointly implemented by the five United Nations regional commissions, with UN-ESCWA being the overall coordinator of the project.
The project aims to assist member countries in developing interregional land and land-sea transport linkages and promoting cooperation towards trade and tourism facilitation. It allows participating countries to establish interregional transport linkages, enhance national capacity for developing the infrastructure for these linkages, and facilitate the movement of people and goods through them. The project also offers member countries advisory services to achieve these goals and strengthens links between national institutions of the public and private sectors. Participating countries in the UN-ESCWA region include Jordan, UAE, Syria, Iraq, Palestine, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, and Yemen.
Opening this Wednesday at 9:15am, the meeting will seek to strengthen Kuwaiti capacities in identifying and reducing administrative, regulatory and procedural barriers to the international land and land-sea transport of goods to and from Kuwait, with an emphasis on activating the work of the national committee on facilitating transport and trade.
The meeting will be attended by representatives of the public and private sector from ministries of transport, economy, trade, and planning, central bank and other agencies related to trade and transport operations i.e. maritime ports authorities and road and railway authorities. The private sector will be represented by import and export companies; insurance, transport, and customs agencies; chambers of commerce and industry; banks; business and trade unions; and representatives from the National Committee on Transport and Trade Facilitation in Kuwait.