Turkmenistan has launched a Trade Information Portal to facilitate cross-border trade. The portal provides access to transparent cross-border trade procedures for five Central Asian countries, including Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan.
The platform was developed by the EU Ready4Trade Central Asia project with technical support from the International Trade Centre to promote Turkmenistan's accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO). The portal is designed to help small and medium-sized businesses quickly and easily find the information necessary for exporting, transporting and importing products. It contains more than 250 sample forms and documents (licenses, permits and certificates) required for import, export and transit operations. The Trade Information Portal is an online platform that will be a one-stop shop for cross-border trade with Turkmenistan. It will also significantly assist trade participants, especially small and medium-sized businesses, in conducting trade operations and making cross-border trade more secure.
How can small and medium-sized enterprises benefit from the Trade Information Portal?
Small and medium-sized enterprises can benefit from the Trade Information Portal in several ways:
- access to information: The portal provides small and medium-sized enterprises with access to all necessary information (laws, regulations, duties and taxes);
- transparency: By providing transparency in cross-border trade procedures, it makes it easier for businesses to navigate the regulatory environment;
- cost savings: By reducing the number of trips required to obtain information or the time it takes to process transactions, it can help small and medium-sized enterprises save costs;
- convenience: The portal is designed to help small and medium-sized enterprises quickly and easily find the information needed to export, transport and import products;
- improved business environment: It can significantly improve the business environment in a country and attract foreign and local investors;
- integration of trade and business information: Some portals, such as the Global Trade Help Desk, integrate trade and business information to simplify market research for companies, especially small and medium-sized enterprises.
Overall, the Trade Information Portal makes the trade operations of small and medium-sized enterprises more efficient and cross-border trade more secure.
What are the advantages of the Trade Information Portal?
- online platform: The Trade Information Portal is an online platform that can be accessed from anywhere with an internet connection;
- user-friendly interface: The portal is designed to be user-friendly, making it easy for small and medium-sized enterprises to navigate and find the necessary information;
- cooperation with stakeholders: The European Commission's Access2Markets portal is an online platform to better explain trade agreements and help companies to identify when their products are eligible for tariff reductions.
- assistance from international organizations: The International Finance Corporation (IFC) helped Somalia create a Trade Information Portal that reduces costs for Somali importers and exporters and simplifies international trade procedures.
In general, SMEs can easily and conveniently access the Trade Information Portal through an online platform and user-friendly interface. They can also benefit from collaboration with stakeholders and assistance from international organizations.
Nurmyrat Mommayev,
PhD Candidate at Marmara University's Department of Political Science and International Relations in Istanbul, Türkiye
