Question to the Department for International Trade:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to use their co-Chair role on the Commonwealth Digital Connectivity Cluster to advance the digitisation of trade documentation.

The fourth Commonwealth Digital Connectivity Cluster meeting took place on the 8^th of December. The overall theme for the Connectivity Clusters as they have been meeting is digital resilience and economic recovery. This follows the Commonwealth Statement on the Covid-19 Pandemic where Heads of Government sought to reduce barriers and promote the adoption of digital technologies as a positive enabler in order to increase resilient, inclusive and diverse trade and investment. The United Kingdom co-leads the Digital Connectivity Cluster with South Africa, where we have worked to ensure digitising trade documents is among the topics for discussion.

Digital trade facilitation and the digitisation of trade documentation specifically delivers benefits for businesses of all sizes and has acquired an even greater importance in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic.