The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is participating in GITEX Technology Week 2019 as the strategic partner of the exhibition in its 39th edition, represented by the unified national system for all import and export activities (Fasah). The smart logistics platform is showcasing its latest technology, whereby visitors to the Fasah pavilion were introduced to the electronic payment window, Fasah Pay, which ended all paper-based import and export financial transactions, making them available electronically; thus, providing customers with reliability and flexibility. Customers also witnessed the journey of the import and export process in the past and how the procedures were re-engineered to become smoother through systems included in the platform, such as the ‘Truck Management System,' which was launched earlier this month with the aim to increase the capacity of ports to receive transport trucks and accelerate their procedures, promoting and growing the import and export movement. Abdul Aziz Al Shamsi, CEO of Saudi Company for Exchanging Digital Information (Tabadul), said "Fasah is our first product with which we aim to reduce the time and cost of preparing, delivering, processing commercial and shipping documents, and expedite customs clearance. As a unified portal, it connects all entities involved in import and export, whether government entities or from the private sector, to enable customers to submit the necessary data for import and export procedures as well as obtain statements and approvals electronically at any time and from any place.'' Al Shamsi noted that Fasah's participation in the most important specialized event in the field of technology in the Middle East is an opportunity to introduce the best innovative electronic solutions to help achieve effective exchange of information, goods, and services across government and business sectors in the KSA. The Fasah platform is the first of many initiatives of Tabadul, a subsidiary of the Public Investment Fund (PIF). The platform, which was officially launched on May 14, 2018 aims to enable entities involved in import and export operations to submit and follow-up on applications and meet the requirements of relevant government agencies without the need to visit them to ensure full transparency and facilitate businesses. — SG
