Webb Fontaine (www.WebbFontaine.com), a leading provider of solutions for Trade facilitation powered by Artificial Intelligence and the latest generation of advanced IT systems, will host a webinar to examine the progress of the region’s Trade and Customs sector.

Held under the title ‘Technology and Trade in the Middle East: Challenges & Opportunities” the expansive online event will discuss in detail the key areas impacting this hugely important industry and its effect on national and regional economies. 

Offering an in-depth and strategic approach to this far-reaching topic, the webinar, which will take place on 14 September at 2pm GST, will focus on three carefully selected talking points:

• The current situation of Middle East import and export and the prospective growth
• The role technology has to play in the growth and development of Trade in the region
• The opportunities and challenges facing Trade in the region and the importance of technology

The role technology has to play in the growth and development of Trade in the region

The need for a greater drive towards digital transformation across the region’s Trade and Customs industry has been accelerated due to the pandemic and the myriad ways in which businesses have been forced to adapt.

The process of digital transformation has been changing and shaping the face of economic and social development around the world. The pandemic has accelerated this phenomenon in ways and to an extent that could not have been imagined only a year ago. Digital trade, as part of that process, has acquired increasing importance with expanding opportunities for businesses and governments in the middle eastern countries.

The webinar will look at how advanced services, including Single Window systems, have been hugely successful in speeding up border processes, keeping regional Trade moving and empowering an ever-greater use of e-commerce and virtual checks to avoid time consuming bottle necks at hubs and allowing for the swift ‘one-stop-shop’ processing of goods.

The opportunities and challenges facing Trade in the region and the importance of technology

The Trade and Customs sector is poised to emerge stronger from the disruption caused by COVID-19, with countries and entities demonstrating impressive agility to ensure essential lines of supply are maintained. The webinar will discuss how a commitment to digital solutions can fast-track recovery and herald a new and more efficient approach to Trade on a regional and global scale.

Among the topics the webinar’s panel will unpack, will be the continuation of investment in digital systems and advanced technologies and who, whether within the industry or in government, will sponsor a continuation of these ambitions.

Alioune Ciss, Webb Fontaine’s CEO, said: “Webb Fontaine’s ‘Technology, Digitalisation and Trade in the Middle East’ webinar will bring together some of the Trade and Customs industry’s most respected leaders, experienced thinkers and innovators to examine some of the key issues impacting the sector around the region. The last two years have been an unprecedented time, with the industry undergoing major and often dramatic upheaval brought about by a rapid drive toward digital solutions in reaction to the COVID-19 pandemic. The insights, opinions, ideas and advice offered during these webinars will help to inspire and shape decisions that will be felt at the very heart of our industry for years to come.”

The Technology and Trade in the Middle East webinar will be broadcast September 14 register on the following link: https://APO-opa.com/webbpub2.

These thought-provoking webinars form part of what is intended to be a larger ThinkTank series aimed at delivering impactful insights thereby allowing stakeholders and consumers to engage in knowledge-sharing as well as in delivering concrete business strategies.