Brunei offers expertise in development of Asean Single Window

BRUNEI is proposing a solution platform that could help expedite the development of the Asean Single Window (ASW) programme by offering its expertise in information communication technology (ICT) through the Asean ICT Masterplan, subject to approval at ministerial level, said the Assistant Chief Executive of the Authority for Info-communications Technology (AiTi) yesterday.

Speaking to The Brunei Times during the Asean Telecommunications and IT Senior Officials Meeting (Telsom) with Dialogue Partners, Koh Hoe Aik Wallace said the expertise would be provided by IT solutions company in Brunei, Mars Enterprise, the winner at the Asia Pacific ICT Alliance (Apicta) 2009 Awards.

"The Asean Single Window for Asean E-customs allows all the customs declaration to use the same software to enable, so that Asean member countries can integrate with each other," he said.

During an afternoon session, the Assistant Chief Executive gave a slide presentation on their proposal for the ICT masterplan including a proposed solution platform to the ASW programme.

In the "Tango Solution" presentation, the award winning project introduced by Mars Enterprise, is a software that could produce Mid-Ware (software that functions as a conversion or translation layer) for existing Web-base Solution, such as e-Custom which saves thousands of hours per day for forwarding agents and importers.

Koh said the solution was part of Brunei's plan to reinforce the idea of implementing ASW in the region and to show the country's ICT capabilities.

He added that among the other proposals that Brunei made to the Asean ICT Masterplan include capacity building, technical training management and environment control programmes.

Accenture, a Singapore-based consultant company hired to provide advisories on the drafting of the Asean ICT Masterplan, through its strategist Guillaume Sachet, said the Asean ICT Masterplan was basically an initiative made by the Asean Telsom to define the ICT visions for the next five years in Asean. "So Telsom really wants to identify what are the initiatives for the IT industry and regulations to get Asean more integrated and get Asean ICT to the next level of development by 2014," he said.

According to information published on the US Agency for International Development's (USAid) website (www.usaid.gov), the ASW operates under a five-year USAid Asean Development Vision to Advance National Cooperation for Economic Integration (Advance) contract.

"Asean Member States are establishing National Single Windows (NSW) to enable the single submission of data for imports or exports that is quickly processed by all relevant agencies to provide expeditious decision-making for customs clearance of cargo," the information read.

Held at the Centrepoint Hotel in Gadong, the session officially began yesterday and will end on March 10.

The Brunei Times