Smart borders will boost business efficiency, says group

A maritime group, Strategic Professional, has said that the evolution of smart borders by the Nigeria Customs Service will ensure timely delivery of raw materials to industries.

The group said this in a statement signed by its spokesperson, Eugene Nweke, after a consultative meeting in Lagos recently.

Nweke in the statement said that the meeting was prompted by noticeable absence of professionals at the global discourse by the comity of global freight forwarding nations.

He also said that the concept of ‘smart border’ was in line with the Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations.

Nweke, who was the president of the National Association of Government Approved Freight Forwarders, further said that ‘smart borders’ would not only reduce unfair business competition but could also open opportunities for all business interests to access raw materials.

He said, “The smart borders concept is in support of the Sustainable Development Goal of the United Nations Agenda 2030. The concept makes room for customs to ensure timely delivery of raw materials to industries, reduce unfair business competition, open opportunities for all business interests to access raw materials, create a transparent, conducive and predictable conditions for trade/passengers, facilitate legitimate trade that will in turn contribute positively to economic growth as well as job creation,” he noted.

He said that the meeting resolved to carry out a robust review of the level of compliance to the Sustainable Development Goals from the Nigeria freight forwarders perspective and document the same for a global representation.

According to him, “Afterwards, the consultative meeting narrowed its reflection for the day on the following global concerns. Today, freight forwarding practices revolve around a growing e-commerce logistics solution where information communication technology drives the international trade security and value adding supply chain. Notably, both the World Trade Organization and the World Customs Organization now focus attention on exploring the integrated e-commerce logistics solutions.”

The group stressed the need to choose the right kind of customs procedures that would op en new potential for improvement and advancement of the evolving new market concepts.