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According to 2013 Central Bank
of Belize data, the country’s volume
of imports and exports has been
increasing year by year, with total
annual trade amounting to US$1.49
billion. Belize’s chief trading partners
are other Central American countries
and the United States. Its main exports
are fresh agricultural produce, ready-
made garments and edible oils, while
its main imports include mechanical
equipment, chemicals and fuel oil. As a
member of the WTO, Belize has a great
need for trade facilitation, but its import-
export system has been hindered by
the lack of complete information, and
the introduction of proper ICT tools is
urgently needed.
Taiwan’s achievements in ICT
development and associated operations
are well known to all,
wi t h Ta iwan hav i ng
surpassed expectations
in numerous areas of
hardware manufacture,
software design and
telecoms applications.
Promoting Taiwan’s ICT
capabilities through
international cooperation
projects can not only boost the position
of its technological products and patents
at a global level, but also better highlight
the benefits of international cooperation,
strengthening Taiwan’s influence in
international affairs.
Integrating the Systems of Separate
Agencies to Enhance Effectiveness
In 2013, the TaiwanICDF and
Belize joined forces on a four-year ICT
Technical Cooperation Project designed
to assist the government of Belize in
boosting the efficiency of its existing
import-export licensing and permit
issuing processes. Technical assistance
and the development of ICT systems
led to the design of the Belize Electronic
Licenses and Permits System (BELAPS),
which provides an online signature
function. The license application and
issuing procedures of Belize’s Fisheries
Department, Forestry Department, the
Belize Bureau of Standards, the Belize
Agricultural Health Authority and the
Ministry of Natural Resources and
Agriculture have also been integrated,
providing individuals and businesses
with a one-stop service using online
media, and thereby reducing the time
and fees involved in processing the
relevant licenses.
The introduction of
BELAPS will also assist
Belizean authorities
in linking Belize’s own
Automated System
f o r Cus t oms Da t a
( A S Y CUD A ) w i t h
the United Nations
C o n f e r e n c e o n
Trade and Development (UNCTAD),
integrating multiple functions including
inspection, customs, cash flow, data
integration and data analysis, enabling
Belize’s electronic customs system to
comply with international standards and
increasing the accuracy of data and the
effectiveness of its use. This will boost
the volume of Belizean imports and
exports, boosting the country’s trade
facilitation in turn.
During systems development, the
project has focused on building the
capacity of cooperating units. In addition
to equipping the Belizean government
with the capacity to operate and
secure its systems through technology
transfer and training, the project will also
enhance the ICT capacity of Belizean
personnel. In 2014, for instance, two
Belizean seed instructors came to
Taiwan, undertaking Java programming
training and acquiring their Oracle
Ce r t i f i ed Pro f ess i ona l Java SE
Programmer qualifications. By sharing
their experiences in comprehensive
professional training and systems
development, they can help cooperating
units and the government as a whole
in building the capacity to develop
systems independently, which will
have the effect of making this case of
international cooperation all the more
sustainable.
5,000
B e n e f i c i a r i e s e x p e c t e d
to benefit from customs
clearance support
ICT Technical Cooperation Project,
Belize
Case Study
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