Regional : Implementing the Integrated Trade Agenda in the Central Asia Regional Economic Cooperation Program

Industry and trade / Industry and trade sector development - Small and medium enterprise development - Trade and services

Inclusive and sustainable economic growth promoted

Growth potential in CAREC members enhanced

policy measures on the integration of CAREC countries with the global economy improved

Market access increased

Greater economic diversification promoted

Institutions for trade strengthened

Progress has been achieved since CITA 2030's endorsement in November 2018 in the delivery of regional and national interventions under the Rolling Strategic Action Plans (RSAP) from 2018-2020 to 2021-2023. RSAP 2022-2024 will be submitted to the 21st CAREC Ministerial Conference in November 2022 through the Senior Officials Meeting.

As of September 2022, the main achievements supported by the TA include:

(i) Organization of the annual meetings of the Regional Trade Group and Customs Cooperation Committee, which contribute to productive discussions and positive outcomes as indicated in the annual CITA implementation report and RSAPs. The 4th RTG meeting (28 September 2021) endorsed RSAP 2021-2023, and discussed the outcomes and recommendations of CAREC Trade Week. The 20th CCC meeting (30 September 2021) discussed countries recent policies, digitalization projects, and innovative technologies adopted to facilitate trade and e-commerce.

(ii) A key event at the sidelines of these meetings was CAREC Trade Week: Enhancing Cooperation in Digital Trade (21-23 September 2021). The E-Commerce Development in CAREC Countries: Assessment and the Way Forward webinar (21 September 2021) presented the two joint ADB-CAREC Institute studies on e-commerce which assessed the legal and regulatory environment and infrastructure gaps. The E-Commerce Development and the Role of the Private Sector: Experience from the People's Republic of China webinar (22 September 2021) provided lessons on alleviating poverty and responding to the pandemic via e-commerce. The CAREC Conference on Digital Trade and Innovations (23 September 2021) launched the joint ESCAP-CI Digital Trade and Sustainable Trade Facilitation Report: CAREC 2021, and shared countries' digitalization initiatives.

(iii) Ongoing initiatives on paperless trade include a scoping study to enhance and integrate Azerbaijan's Customs national single window with other agencies. ADB and UNECE co-organized a virtual regional workshop on the Digitalization of Trade Documents in the Shymkent-Tashkent-Khujand (STKEC) Region (25 May 2022) focusing on documents accompanying goods transported by road or rail.

(iv) ADB and the USAID Future Growth Initiative co-organized a webinar series Toward a Central Asian E-Commerce Market (May 2022) featuring ongoing work of development partners, best practices and enabling the environment, experiences from other regions to deepen the e-commerce agenda, and private sector views on priority challenges to cross-border e-commerce. An 18-session training series on cross-border e-commerce for national technical vocational educational and training institutions was organized by the China Association of Trade in Services (CATIS), CAREC Institute and ADB-PRC Regional Knowledge Sharing Initiative (RKSI) (every Saturday from 5 March to 2 July 2022). Further, ADB shared CAREC experience, trends and best practices in regional cooperation on e-commerce during the Cross-Border E-Commerce Regional Workshop for PACER Plus Parties held virtually (13-15 September 2022).

(v) A Forum on Developing Sustainable Economic Zones in CAREC Countries co-organized by ADB with the Mongolia Ministry of Economy and Development, World Free Zones Organization, and CAREC Institute (13-14 September 2022) discussed the new generation of economic zones, best practices from the region and beyond, and mechanisms to attract investments while promoting economic, social and environmental sustainability. This was followed by the first of CAREC Roundtable Series on Emerging Regional Trade, Transportation, and Logistics Landscape: Supply Chain Connectivity and Resilient Border Operations in the CAREC Region (15 September 2022), co-organized with the Mongolia Ministry of Economy and Development. The conference discussed current challenges faced and outlined the prospects and trade policy directions to enhance cross-border movement of goods, mitigate the risks of supply chain disruptions, and enable sustainable economic recovery. Both were hybrid physical and virtual events with over 100 participants.

(vi) An ex-ante impact assessment of Azerbaijan's accession to the WTO was conducted that could guide its bilateral market access and multilateral negotiations. The results were discussed with government at a Stakeholders'Seminar (16 March 2022). Support is being provided to Turkmenistan in its accession preparations in close coordination with the WTO Secretariat. A High-Level Launch of the Work Program on the Preparation of the Memorandum on the Foreign Trade Regime took place (5 July 2022) with other development partners.

(vii) Work is underway to assess issues on technical regulations and standards in CAREC. A preliminary assessment that identified gaps and challenges and highlighted the multiplicity of standards and varying conformity assessment procedures was presented at the 4th RTG meeting.

(viii) The CAREC Trade Information Portal was launched in September 2021 and is regularly updated with available data. As part of CITA 2030 outreach, the CAREC Trade newsletter Trade Insights and News was first released in March 2022. Released quarterly, it features insights from policy dialogues and knowledge-sharing events, outcomes of investment and technical assistance projects, knowledge products and services and upcoming events.

Among the key knowledge products delivered under CITA are:

(a) Developing the Services Sector for Economic Diversification in CAREC Countries was published in December 2021 and launched in an RCI-POD Webinar (15 March 2022). It identifies key service industries with strong potential in CAREC economies and discusses the elements of an enabling environment for services and specific actions for CAREC countries.

(b) E-Commerce in CAREC: Laws and Policies was published in August 2021. Jointly conducted by ADB and CAREC Institute, it evaluates CAREC countries'legislative and regulatory framework and proposes actions to facilitate domestic and cross-border e-commerce. The publication was launched at a virtual conference on E-Commerce Development in CAREC Countries: Assessment and the Way Forward on 21 September 2021.

(c) E-Commerce in CAREC Countries: Infrastructure Development was published in March 2022. Jointly conducted by ADB and CAREC Institute, the study provides recommendations to improve internet infrastructure, payment systems, delivery and logistics as well as develop the e-commerce market and leverage existing international initiatives and cooperate with the private sector.

The 5th Meeting of the Regional Trade Group is scheduled on 18 October 2022 to review progress of implementation of CITA 2030 and agree on deliverables, which includes the CAREC Digital Trade Forum and RSAP 2022-2024 that will be reported to the 21st Ministerial Conference through the National Focal Points' Meeting.