In this interview, Hussam Alkokhon, Chair of ICC Qatar Customs & Trade Facilitation Commission, discusses Qatar’s journey on MLETR alignment and its impact on transforming trade finance operations.
The views and opinions expressed in this interview are those of the interviewee and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of ICC Academy or ICC.
About the interviewee:
Hussam Alkokhon brings over 20 years of experience in international trade finance across Jordan, the UAE, and Qatar.
He chairs ICC Qatar’s Commission on Customs & Trade Facilitation and leads the task force responsible for developing a MLETR-aligned legal framework under Qatari law. He has also spoken at key industry events including the Qatar Trade and Treasury Transformation Summit.
Setting the stage: QATAR’s MLETR journey
What specific steps has Qatar taken to align with the UNCITRAL MLETR framework? What have been the most significant milestones so far?
Qatar’s approach to MLETR alignment has been structured and collaborative. The foundation was laid by Decree-Law No. 16 of 2010, which recognised electronic records and signatures and established a legal basis for electronic transactions.
Building on that, the Qatar Central Bank launched its national FinTech strategy and regulatory sandbox, enabling banks and fintechs a supervised environment to test solutions including digital settlement and distributed ledger technology.
On the trade side, ICC Qatar established a dedicated MLETR Taskforce – which I have had the privilege of chairing – bringing together three specialised working groups covering legal, technology, and business perspectives. The groups have completed a first draft aligned with MLETR principles, marking a significant milestone.
Qatar has now officially progressed to Stage 6 on the global MLETR adoption tracker, moving beyond discussion into concrete legislative drafting. This positions Qatar among the regional leaders in digital trade readiness.
View the global MLETR tracker here: https://www.digitalizetrade.org/mletr
What challenges – regulatory, technical, or institutional – have you encountered in harmonising Qatar’s legal infrastructure with MLETR? How are they being addressed?
The central legal challenge is that while Qatar’s 2010 law broadly recognises electronic transactions, it does not yet fully capture MLETR-specific requirements – particularly concepts like “exclusive control” and the digital equivalents of possession and transfer. The Taskforce’s first draft directly addresses these gaps.
On the technical side, the challenge lies in guaranteeing the uniqueness of digital records and demonstrating transfer of control. This requires robust infrastructure: digital identity frameworks and distributed ledger platforms. Pilots within the Qatar Central Bank and Qatar Financial Centre sandbox valuable precisely because they allow these solutions to be tested under real but supervised conditions.
Institutionally, aligning a diverse group of stakeholders – banks, corporates, ports, shipping companies, and the courts – has been the most complex challenge.
ICC Qatar and the Chamber have addressed this through targeted workshops and a social media awareness series in four languages (Arabic, English, French, and Spanish), raising understanding both locally and internationally.
Read more on digital trade: ‘Digital Trade 101: What you need to know‘
MLETR Foundations
How have local stakeholders (banks, corporates, regulatory authorities) responded to the push toward trade finance digitisation under MLETR?
The response has been broadly positive, though adoption is moving at different speeds across sectors.
Banks are actively exploring pilots with electronic bills of lading and blockchain-based settlement, drawn by the potential to cut processing times and reduce fraud. Larger corporates have shown interest in participating in pilot programmes, while SMEs remain more cautious – they will need clear incentives and simplified processes to engage meaningfully with MLETR.
Overall, the direction is clear: there is genuine interest, but..
…adoption will be gradual as the legal and technical environment matures.
Beyond borders: The global push for trade digitisation
In your view, which regions or markets are currently leading in e-document trade adoption? What can Qatar learn from them?
Singapore stands out as the clear leader, having enacted its own MLETR-based legislation and built strong public-private partnerships around digital trade. The UK and Hong Kong have also moved quickly with legal reforms and pilot projects. In the Gulf, Abu Dhabi Global Market has taken a notably proactive role.
The best practices Qatar can draw from these markets fall into three areas: establishing clear legal certainty through legislation; running coordinated pilot programs that bring together banks, shippers, and customs authorities; and adopting open standards for data and interoperability rather than fragmented, siloed solutions.
Read more: ‘MLETR: An overview of UNCITRAL’s Model Law on Electronic Transferable Records‘
How do you anticipate MLETR influencing future global trade agreements or digital trade corridors?
MLETR creates the legal foundation for trust in digital trade – and that trust is what makes digital trade corridors possible. In practice, it means documents could move seamlessly across borders with mutual recognition of legal status, enabling faster customs clearance, reduced fraud, and broader access to trade finance.
MLETR Foundations
Innovation at the intersection of AI and digital trade
Which data and interoperability standards – if any – are most critical for AI-enabled processing of electronic trade documents (e.g., ISO 20022, ICC URDTT, digital identity frameworks) and where do you see the main gaps to operationalise them across borders?
Standards are foundational. Without them, AI systems are left processing inconsistent or unstructured data, which undermines reliability.
Some notable frameworks include ISO 20022 for payments messaging, and ICC rules such as the Uniform Rules for Digital Trade Transactions (URDTT) for electronic trade. Digital identity frameworks and Legal Entity Identifiers (LEIs) are equally critical, since proving “control” over an electronic record ultimately depends on trusted identity systems.
The gaps are well-defined: different jurisdictions still use different data definitions; digital identity systems are not yet interoperable across borders; and governance frameworks for AI tools used in compliance and risk management are still evolving. Closing these gaps will require coordinated international efforts and shared regional frameworks.
Unlocking new horizons for supply chain finance
How can digitised trade documents under MLETR make SCF models (like dynamic discounting, receivables financing) more efficient, scalable, or less risky?
Digitising trade documents under MLETR has the potential to fundamentally change how supply chain finance works, and the early signals are promising across four areas.
Speed and efficiency: Without manual checks or paper flows, approvals and settlements in receivables financing and dynamic discounting could happen in near real time, dramatically reducing processing delays.
Scalability: A harmonised legal foundation across jurisdictions means digital documents can move seamlessly across borders, which is particularly significant for bringing SMEs into the global supply chain finance ecosystem.
Risk reduction: Digital records that are unique, verifiable, and tamper-proof significantly reduce fraud risks such as double financing, giving banks and investors greater confidence in the assets they are funding.
Liquidity: Looking further ahead, once trade documents are digitised, tokenisation becomes possible – turning invoices or receivables into tradable digital assets. This could open access to a wider pool of investors and create the conditions for secondary markets in trade finance assets, though this remains an emerging capability in mainstream practice.
Are you aware of any successful pilot projects or case studies where digital documents have enabled innovative SCF solutions in Qatar or regionally?
Some Qatari banks have tested blockchain-based platforms for cross-border settlements, and ICC Qatar has run awareness programs demonstrating MLETR’s practical potential. Regionally, electronic bill of lading (eBL) projects and distributed ledger pilots have shown how digital documents can underpin receivables financing and dynamic discounting. These remain early-stage, but they provide meaningful proof of concept.
What role can blockchain or distributed ledger technologies play, in conjunction with MLETR, in streamlining SCF processes?
It is worth noting that MLETR is technology neutral – blockchain is not a requirement. That said, it can be a powerful enabler.
Distributed ledger platforms provide a single, tamper-proof record of transactions, which simplifies verification considerably. They also make it possible to tokenise ownership of trade documents, enabling faster transfer and near-instant settlement. Smart contracts can further automate financing events – for example, releasing funds automatically when shipping data confirms goods have been loaded.
The road ahead: Vision and strategic priorities
What role do you see Qatar playing in shaping regional digital trade corridors and standard-setting around MLETR adoption?
Qatar is well positioned to move beyond domestic MLETR adoption toward a regional convening role – and this aligns with its National Vision 2030 and National Development Strategy, which prioritise economic diversification and innovation.
With a strong FinTech strategy, an active central bank, and the QFC regulatory sandbox, Qatar has the infrastructure to lead cross-border pilots and promote model legislation harmonised with MLETR. By bringing together banks, ports, customs authorities, and corporates, Qatar could set the benchmark for interoperability and establish itself as a digital trade hub for the Gulf and beyond.
If you had to identify one breakthrough that could accelerate digital trade adoption in the next five years, what would it be and why?
Mutual legal recognition of electronic transferable records between major trading partners. Once two or more jurisdictions formally agree to recognise each other’s digital bills of lading or promissory notes, the incentives for banks, corporates, and logistics providers to adopt digital processes become compelling – and the business case becomes self-sustaining.
Combined with interoperable digital identity frameworks, that kind of mutual recognition would unlock scale adoption far more quickly than any single technology solution.
