On June 13, 2023 the International Federation of Freight Forwarders Associations (FIATA) President Dr. Ivan Petrov visited the Federation of Freight Forwarders’ Associations in India (FFFAI) Head Quarters in Mumbai during his visit to India to attend the FFFAI Diamond Jubilee event held on June 9 in New Delhi.
FFFAI Chairman Mr. Shankar Shinde and other Office Bearers along with EC Members & Board of Advisors discussed various trade related aspects including government policy matters, infrastructure, IT & digitization, skill development, etc for the benefit of the CB & Freight Forwarding community in India. Both the leaders emphasised on the long-standing relationship between the two Federations and initiatives for future cooperation pertaining to the members’ benefits.
Dr. Petrov urged for more participation of FFFAI leadership & Members in the multifarious Committees of FIATA and acknowledged the contribution of FFFAI representatives on FIATA committees stating that: FIATA is composed of 109 Association Members Over 6,000 Individual Members. Overall representing a multimodal industry of 40,000 freight forwarding and logistics firms. FIATA advocates for trade facilitation and actively contributes to the functioning of the supply chain through close collaboration with relevant stakeholders.
Dr. Petrov also emphasized the requirements of the individual companies i.e. the industry stakeholders from the International Federation. According to him, there is a need for an awareness programme to highlight the benefits of individual members/companies who are very important components of FIATA.
According to the FIATA President, geopolitical challenges have made it impossible in some global regions to rely on one mode of transport. Seamless integration of different transport modes necessary to provide efficient and sustainable transport solutions.In his opinion, international cooperation, trade agreements and infrastructure development can facilitate connectivity between all transport modes Further stating that that regulatory frameworks, customs procedures and infrastructure gaps hinder smooth flow of goods.
Presently FIATA works through its Institutes and Advisory Bodies together with the United Nations divisions (UNCTAD, UNCITRAL, UNESCAP, UNECE and more), the WTO, IRU, UIC, ITC, and others, to facilitate trade, build capacity, and standardise processes.
The FIATA President emphasized on the skill development and role of training institutions. He highly commended the initiatives of FFFAI training arm Indian Institute of Freight Forwarders (IIFF), which is imparting training to the freight forwarding and logistics fraternity to execute FIATA Diploma Courses.
In this regard Dr. Petrov assured FIATA’s support to different wings of FFFAI, especially women’s wing to expand their horizon internationally.
“FIATA is the voice of small and medium-sized enterprises, and developing countries, helping them to access markets by staying on top of advocacy and policy work,” Dr. Petrov asserted.
FFFAI being the National body representing India at FIATA and holds various positions in FIATA Committees to contribute best practices. The FFFAI Chairman Mr. Shankar Shinde felt that the relationship would have to be further strengthened for mutual benefits, interest of the 30 FFFAI Member associations comprising about 6500 members.
Mr. Shankar highlighted the recent initiatives of Indian Customs regarding Trade Facilitation & Ease of Doing Business, especially the digital initiatives and Faceless mechanisms, for the larger interest of the exim trade as well as logistics industry. He also pointed out the recent Government initiatives in terms of building capacity and trade-friendly policies for fast cargo clearance with special mention to PM Gati Shakti Master Plan and National Logistics Policy.
