Central Asia Gateway wins “Best Trade Information Portal” Award at World Investment Forum

Facilitating trade through data sharing

The Central Asia Gateway is an ITC solution developed in close collaboration with partners in all five Central Asia countries: Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan.

The platform combines these countries’ National Trade Facilitation Portals (TFP) – also developed with ITC support under the above-mentioned Ready4Trade Central Asia Project – into a single online platform, providing users easy access to information on cross-border trade formalities in the region.

The Central Asia Gateway and its network covers 280 trade flows in Central Asia and has had 195,000 visitors since its launch in May 2023.

Building a conducive business environment

The Central Asia Gateway provides a regional index to compare trade formalities and an overview of trade formalities along corridors in the region to foster dialogue among policymakers and private sector operators, facilitating the benchmarking of procedural requirements and assisting in the design and implementation of roadmaps to reach trade facilitation goals.

The Central Asia Gateway enhances transparency throughout supply chains, reducing costs, time and effort required to access trade-related information, minimizing border shipment delays, improving efficiency along corridors and boosting regional trade integration.

"The Central Asia Gateway is an important step enhancing trade cooperation among the five countries of the region. It makes Central Asia bigger and more resilient market, and stronger international trade player. It enables intra-regional trade to go faster and smoother. It makes Central Asia even more important partner of the European Union”, said Kestutis Jankauskas, Ambassador of the European Union to the Republic of Kazakhstan. 

‘This award is in recognition of Central Asian countries’ efforts to make trade faster, easier and less costly for businesses in the region, including small businesses. We’ll continue to work alongside policymakers and businesses to build on the progress that’s been made,’ said ITC Executive Director Pamela Coke-Hamilton.

Paving a clear path forward

Earlier this year, His Excellency President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev of Kazakhstan at the fifth Consultative Meeting of the Heads of State of Central Asia proposed the idea of expanding the Central Asia Gateway with the creation of a unified electronic database for commodity producers. This initiative would further drive trade and investment facilitation, especially in Kazakhstan where ‘intraregional trade turnover in the country has increased by over 80% to $10.6 billion over the past five years’, he said .

Speaking on the margins of the award ceremony, Mr. Nurlan Kulbatyrov, Deputy Director General Center for Trade Policy Development (QazTrade), ITC’s partner in Kazakhstan, added: ‘Central Asian countries have set ambitious targets for increasing exports. For small and medium-sized businesses, the Central Asia Gateway is an excellent tool which offers opportunities to connect to new markets thanks to a door-to-door overview of cross-border formalities along Cen0tral Asian corridors. Through this one and only portal, traders can obtain information on the rules and procedures to import, export and transit, including all forms and documents required in Central Asian countries.’

This award underlines the progress achieved by Central Asia Countries in enhancing trade facilitation in the region and connecting to international markets, in compliance with the World Trade Organization’s Trade Facilitation Agreement.