QC Hosts Regional Workshop on Requirements for Application of Electronic Certificate of Origin

Doha: The Qatar Chamber (QC) hosted a regional workshop on Monday titled Requirements for the Application of Electronic Certificate of Origin (e-CO) in the Framework of the Greater Arab Free Trade Area (GAFTA). The seminar was organized by the General Secretariat of the League of Arab States within the framework of cooperation with the International Islamic Trade Finance Corporation (ITFC) through the implementation of the second phase of the Aid for Trade Initiative for the Arab States (AFTIAS 2.0). The three-day workshop was intended to identify the mechanisms for exchanging e-COs among Arab states. It also addressed challenges faced by countries in the application of e-COs and explored successful Arab experiences in this regard, in addition to discussing the recommendations for increasing the number of Arab countries issuing e-COs. In the inaugural session, Director of the Administrative and Financial Affairs Department at QC, Hussein Yousef Al Abdulghani said that issuance of e-certificate of origin is a crucial factor in developing the intra-Arab trade. He affirmed that the workshop supports the Arab economic integration, expressing his hope it ends with recommendations that increase the number of countries issuing the e-COs in the framework of the GAFTA. For her part, Rules of Origin Officer at the Arab Economic Integration Department of the Arab League, Lamia Abdelwahed thanked QC for hosting the workshop, highlighting the Arab League General Secretariats keenness on keeping up with the global commercial developments, which contribute to the advancement of the Arab integration in the framework of the GAFTA. Lamia Abdelwahed underscored the importance of e-CO in promoting and streamlining the inter-Arab trade, pointing out that one of the most prominent achievements of the past years in the rules of origin sector is the acceptance of e-CO by the Arab countries. She elucidated that there are six countries currently issuing the certificate of origin electronically: Qatar, UAE, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Kuwait, and Morocco. The first session highlighted the State of Qatar's experience in issuing the Arab e-COs and addressed by Coordinator of the Certificate of Origin at QC Abdulatif Al Buraiki, during which he reviewed the steps of registration by companies in the Arab e-CO service, which was launched by the Chamber in 2020. He also explained how companies submit the application and verify the validity of the issued certificate. In the second and third session, an international expert specialized in rules of origin, Dr. Tamer Mahmoud reviewed the development of the issuance of certificate of origin and its provisions within the framework of the GAFTA, highlighting the mechanisms for verifying the validity of the issuance of the Arab certificate of origin. Source: Qatar News Agency