This paper studies the linkage between trade and transport facilitation and ICT. It looks into the business needs of trade and transport facilitation (TTF) and how ICT can respond to these needs. The paper argues, new policy and regulatory directions for trade and transport facilitation and new operational requirements have emerged in recent years. Thus the design of ICT architecture and its organizational underpinnings has to change to respond to these new requirements.
The paper will first present current trade and transport facilitation trends and the impact they have regarding ICT support. It will then present an architectural model for the integration and modernization of trade and transport facilitation systems and describe some of its features. A discussion of organizational and legal requirements supplements this discussion and completes the frame work for Trade and Transport Facilitation ICT systems described in this paper. Some information on the state of preparedness of selected least and landlocked developing countries (Nepal, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia and Myanmar) towards the implementation of a National Single Window for paperless trade is provided in annex for reference.