Suriname is now better positioned to improve the effectiveness of its implementation of both the CSME and the European Partnership Agreement (EPA) on account of two agreements signed earlier this month with the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB).
The two projects, the CSME Standby Facility and the EPA Standby Facility, “will assist in transforming Suriname into a more competitive economy, increasing its export earnings, and making the country more attractive for investment,” a release from the bank said.
Suriname’s Ministry of Trade will implement a grant from the EPA Standby Facility which will help determine the requirements for establishing an Electronic Single Window (ESW) that will allow importers and exporters to submit all of the documentation needed to obtain licences to trade online. Currently, applications for trade licences must be submitted in hard copy and manually processed.
Depending on the volume of applications received and the extent to which forms have been filled correctly and accompanied by the required certificates, it can take up to a month to obtain a licence. The establishment of an Electronic Single Window will allow all applications and processing to be done electronically thereby significantly reducing processing time to as little as 48 hours.
The EU contribution through the EPA Standby Facility for this project is €178,111.
