Results achieved as of March 2014 include: (1) institutional strengthening plans for the Palestinian Shippers Council were finalized, including a three-year strategy, a financial business case, a management manual, and terms of reference for work units and staff; (2) 89 percent of council staff, directors, and members expressed satisfaction with the improvement in management capacities; (3) 92 percent of male staff and 91 percent of female staff reported improved knowledge and skills on the legal aspects of trade facilitation and their application; (4) five research papers were drafted on trade facilitation topics, including on import of dual use goods, damage and claim process, and barriers facing female shippers, as a result of the council’s enhanced research, policy and technical publication capacity; the papers are expected to contribute to increased awareness among Palestinian shippers on trade facilitation issues; (5) 13 workshops were held for targeted international, public, private, and financial institutions in order to increase awareness among the council’s members and the Palestinian shipper’s community on relevant aspects of trade facilitation, including legal aspects and best practices; (6) the council’s technical and legal services helped Palestinian traders reduce cost and time in all stages of the supply chain; (7) training material for eight training modules of the council’s professional training program was developed, including modules that cover transport, logistics, exports, legal topics, customs, regulatory issues, and import and export management; and (8) 33 potential trainers (12 women) were selected to participate in the training of trainers program. These have contributed to strengthening the effectiveness of the Palestinian Shippers Council on different aspects of trade facilitation, strategic management and targeted expertise training, as well as to improving the understanding of Palestinian firms on how to effectively ship their goods to markets.
