Jordan Times
Thursday, May 6, 2004
Jordan to use Australian-designed electronic trading system
AMMAN (JT) The Kingdom has become the first
Middle Eastern country to adopt E-cert Australia's Internet-based system for
tracking agricultural exports and imports, Australian Agriculture Minister
Warren Truss and Health Minister Said Darwazeh, announced on Tuesday.
The ministers, who made the announcement at an official function in Amman, also
signed a memorandum of understanding setting out E-cert's operating arrangements
in the Kingdom, according to a statement released by the Australian embassy.
E-cert is an electronic system that helps verify whether agricultural products
being traded comply with food safety, and animal or plant health requirements,
Truss said.
It is simple and easy to use, and replaces the existing paper-based system
governments use to track agricultural exports and imports. It also allows import
clearance agencies to quickly check documentation online and verify its
accuracy, the statement said.
The agency then checks the export certificates it receives from importers
against the online versions on the E-cert website.
E-cert would be a quick and effective way for Jordan to verify certification
covering Australian meat shipments, Darwazeh said,
That will confirm the authenticity of the shipments, helping to reduce the
chances of fraud and enhancing Jordan's border security arrangements, Darwazeh
added
Truss said Australia hopes more of its trading partners will come to rely on the
E-cert system, and the clear benefits that electronic certification has over the
more traditional paper-based system.
E-cert is creating a lot of interest among agricultural inspection and
quarantine authorities around the world, he said.
According to the statement, Australia is looking at E-cert trials with several
other of its major trading partners in 2004, including Singapore, the United
States, Mexico, Canada, New Zealand and the United Kingdom.
I welcome Jordan's decision to use E-cert, and trust that other countries in
the region, and around the world, soon follow suit. This will help boost trade,
and ensure the wider application of an effective, easier to use and more secure
verification system, Truss said
Truss' visit is part of a two-week trip to the Middle East to boost Australia's
agricultural relations with the region. The trip also includes visits to Egypt,
Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait and Israel.