- Progress being made with the Implementation of VSWIFT
The government of St. Vincent and the Grenadines continues to make progress with its efforts under the Digital Transformation Project to establish an Electronic Single Window for Trade Facilitation (ESWIFT) now being branded VSWIFT (Vincy Single Window for Trade Facilitation).
On November 17th, 2023, the government signed a contract with the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) to implement the VSWIFT. Currently, UNCTAD’s lead advisor on VSWIFT is on the ground engaging the Border Regulatory Agencies as they push to complete the Legislative Framework Review. This engagement also includes the Technical Working Group on Legislation (TWG-L) as well as the Project Implementation Team.
The enabling legislative framework will empower the VSWIFT Operator and participating Border agencies to facilitate seamless trade transactions and grant validity to the transactions and interactions among parties. The proposed legislation and related documentation will lay a strong foundation for setting up the single window facility, and paperless processing environment, allowing interoperability among participants (data sharing, data protection, data privacy), and establishing service level agreements and terms and conditions of use.
The current mission will also seek to engage in preparatory discussions with the Caribbean Digital Transformation Project (CARDTP) and the Customs and Excise Department (CED) on the establishment of electronic data interchange standards and protocols geared towards guaranteeing interoperability, seamless data exchange mechanisms, security, and authenticity of electronic transactions.
The implementation of the ESWIFT is expected to cost the Government of St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Two Million, Three Hundred, Thirty-Eight Thousand, Four Hundred United States Dollars (USD2,338,400). The system is expected to be fully implemented by June 2026.
