Additional grant to facilitate trade in Central Asia
19 Dec '07
3 min read
The project will also support bilateral initiatives among CAREC countries and enhance partnership between CAREC's participating multilateral institutions and key international agencies supporting customs reform, trade facilitation and logistics development in the region.
It will also promote dialogue and cooperation with the private sector, which would help formulate and utilize trade facilitation measures, and undertake capacity building in areas of integrated trade facilitation and in broader areas related to trade and transport. The project will also produce knowledge products such as policy and strategic papers.
Trade facilitation plays a vital role for CAREC countries, especially in expanding intra- and interregional trade, which spur investments and economic growth in the long term. Trade facilitation refers to a wide range of activities such as import and export procedures, transport formalities, payments, and insurance and other financial requirements.
Despite years of reform and intensified regional cooperation efforts, the participation of Central Asian countries in international trade remains limited mainly due to the unnecessarily high costs of trade due to, among other reasons, the countries being landlocked, which makes trade and transit problematic.
At most borders, it is necessary to comply with a range of procedures in addition to customs, including animal quarantine, inspection of plants and other agricultural materials, checking of drivers' licenses, axle loads, and compliance with other road rules.
Simplification and harmonization of such procedures are integral to trade facilitation. While international agreements on standard norms can help, a key requirement is to shift policy to place more emphasis on trade facilitation rather than trade control.
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