UNECE has partnered with the Economic Council to the Prime Minister of the Republic of Moldova to facilitate the integration of Moldova and Ukraine in a seamless digital exchange of data and documents across different modes of transportation. This is made possible through the use of e-business standards developed by the UN Centre for Trade Facilitation and Electronic Business (UN/CEFACT), a subsidiary body of UNECE.
As Moldova and Ukraine serve as a link between two major UNECE subregions – the European Union and Central Asia – and with UN/CEFACT standards being widely adopted for cross-border trade and transport, digital connectivity plays a crucial role in enhancing regional trade and economic integration. This is especially important as trade between the European Union and Central Asia has significantly increased in the past decade, with two-thirds of total trade being imports to the European Union, totaling €47.5 billion in 2022.
To further this goal, UNECE and the Economic Council organized a seminar in Chisinau, Moldova, to discuss the practical implementation of UN/CEFACT standards. The seminar was attended by policymakers, experts from Moldova and Ukraine, as well as representatives from international organizations and development partners such as the European Commission, GIZ, the Transport Community, and UNCTAD – ASYCUDA. The seminar aimed to enhance understanding of the steps needed to implement UN/CEFACT standards, which are the foundation of the European Union’s Electronic Freight Transport Information Regulation (eFTI) and the SPECA Trans-Caspian Roadmap on Digitalization of Multimodal Data and Document Exchange.
The seminar also reviewed the progress of a pilot project led by TRACECA (Transport Corridor Europe-Caucasus-Asia) on the digital transformation of the railway consignment note in the Trans-Caspian Corridor. Representatives from Moldovan and Ukrainian railways, along with international experts, agreed to work towards aligning the exchange of railway consignment notes with UN/CEFACT standards.
Other important initiatives discussed include:
- Launching additional pilot projects in Moldova and Ukraine
- Customizing the eFTI dataset, based on the UN/CEFACT Multi-Modal Transport Reference Data Model, in Moldova and Ukraine
- Providing training to national implementers on relevant UN/CEFACT standards
- Developing a module to integrate data from business documents accompanying goods transported by different modes into the Automated System for Customs Data (UNCTAD-ASYCUDA)
Through its ongoing work in Moldova and Ukraine, UNECE is strengthening the digital connectivity of transit corridors by promoting standardized information exchange. By enabling uniform and seamless electronic data exchange across trade, transport, and logistics sectors, these standards help reduce costs, expedite transactions, and minimize errors. This is especially important as UN/CEFACT is currently developing a policy recommendation to enhance digital connectivity along transit corridors and bridge gaps in soft infrastructure. This will allow regional economies to more effectively integrate into global value chains, promoting growth and sustainable development.