Belmopan, August 31, 2026.
Belize has achieved a significant milestone in the implementation of its Electronic Single Window for Trade (ESW) with the successful completion of an intensive four-day Knowledge Exchange Mission with the Jamaica Customs Agency (JCA). This initiative, undertaken under the Trade and Investment Facilitation Program, a loan program for the Government of Belize financed by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and executed through the Central Executing Unit of the Ministry of Finance, focused on acquiring practical, first-hand insights from Jamaica’s established Single Window for Trade (JSWIFT) system to inform and accelerate Belize’s own digital trade transformation.
The Belize delegation comprised members of the Electronic Single Window (ESW) Project Technical Team, representing the Directorate General for Foreign Trade (DGFT), the Belize Customs and Excise Department, the Belize Agricultural Health Authority (BAHA), the Central Information Technology Office (CITO), and the Ministry of Finance. Belize’s ESW Technical Team serves as the inter-agency working body responsible for reviewing and validating business processes and requirements and supporting business process re-engineering, testing, and implementation.
The Belize ESW for Trade forms part of the Government’s broader efforts to modernize and digitalize trade and border processes, improve government efficiency, facilitate legitimate trade, and strengthen Belize’s competitiveness through greater coordination among agencies involved in import, export, and other trade-related procedures. This coordinated effort also involves the Belize Fisheries Department, the Ministry of Health (Pharmaceutical Division), and the Supplies Control Unit, all of which are working to improve processes and advance a seamless trade facilitation agenda.
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