The Egyptian Commercial Service (ECS) and the Egyptian Customs Authority (ECA) signed a protocol on Monday as part of their keenness on further consolidating the competitiveness of the national economy.
ECS’s Head, Abdel Aziz El-Sherif, and ECA’s Chief Ahmed Omawi, signed the co-operation protocol, in the presence of Minister of Finance, Ahmed Kouchouk, and Minister of Investment and Foreign Trade,Hassan El-Khatib.
The two ministers stressed the importance of deepening bilateral coordination to facilitate trade flows, reduce customs clearance times, and leverage the ECS to enhance the efficiency of the joint risk management system and accelerate customs clearance procedures.
They coming phase will see greater co-operation between the two sides in the automated valuation of goods through direct communication with producing and supplying companies abroad, as well as facilitating procedures to verify the accuracy of data and commercial documents related to Egyptian imports, a press release quoted them as saying.
For his part, ECA’s Omawi, said the protocol is part of ongoing efforts to modernise the customs system, noting that co-operation with the ECS constitutes a pillar in supporting pre- and post-verification mechanisms for commercial documents and data, ensuring accuracy of information while speeding up and streamlining procedures.
ECS’sEl-Sherifsaid that signing the protocol boosts the existing co-operation between the two sides. noting that the service offices overseas play a key role in supporting requests from the authority to verify certificates of origin and commercial invoices, thereby contributing to enhancing the efficiency of Egypt’s foreign trade system.
