United Nations Conference on Trade and Development

1
Regional Co-operation in Trade,Transit and
Transport Facilitation UNCTADsWork
Tehran, 16-17 Novemeber 2005
United Nations Conference on Trade and Development
2
Mission

• To provide developing countries with sustainable
  trade, transit and transport facilitation
  capacityat national and regional levels.

3
Implementation principles

• Rely on local knowledge rather than systematic
  international expertise
• Build on regional trade, transit transport
  facilitation networks
• Introduce ICT solutions along selected trade and
  transport corridors
• Use available ICT tools (e.g. ASYCUDA, ACIS).

4
Issues covered

• Institutional, legal and operational reforms.
• Institution building with private and public
  trade and transport communities.
• Trade routes and transport corridors in regional
  networks.
• Linkages between national/regional and global
  operators.

5
Security issues

• Developing countries need to cope with security
  initiatives adopted at national and international
  levels.
• The economic impact of these initiatives must be
  taken into consideration.

6
Ongoing activities

•  Research and analysis.
•  Exchange of experiences Consensus building.
• Information systems development.
• Technical assistance.
•  Training Knowledge dissemination.
• Doha Declaration
• Trade Facilitation in the WTO Framework
  Agreement

7
1. Research and publications
8
Examples

• Improvement of the legal framework for transport
  transit and trade facilitation.
• Tools for assessing needs and priorities in TF.
• Support to transport and trade facilitation
  platforms.
• Trade and transport facilitation cluster
  development.
• Impact of security measures on developing
  countries trade.

9
2. Exchange of experiencesand Consensus building

• Intergovernmental meetings
• Almaty Parallel Event on Trade Facilitation, Aug.
  2003
• Interactive Session on Transport TF at UNCTAD
  XI.
• Experts meetings
• Trade Facilitation, Nov. 2002, MT logistics
  services, Sept. 2003, Transit transport
  arrangements, Nov. 2004 and Expert Meeting on
  Trade Facilitation as an Engine for Development,
  September 2005

10
3. Information systems development

• ASYCUDA installed in 84 countries.See
  web-site www.asycuda.org
• ACIS installed in 18 countries. See
  web-site www.railtracker.org
•  

11
Technical cooperation (external financing)
12
4. Objective

• Aims at establishing a favorable domestic
• environment for international trade transactions,
• based on effectively implemented international
• instruments, recognized best commercial practices
  
• and common standards while recognizing the
  critical importance of border crossing points,
  which are key locations where discrepancies
  between buyers and sellers domestic trade
  environments are being exacerbated.

13
Current Projects

• Integrated country projects
• Afghanistan and Pakistan (in co-operation with
  the World Bank)
• Economic Co-operation Organization (ECO).
• IT-based management projects
• Advance Cargo Information System, ACIS
• ASYCUDA.
• Inter-regional projects
• Needs and priorities in trade facilitation
• Transport and trade facilitation platforms
• Sustainable T TF capacity for LLDCs.
•  

14
Afghanistan

• Emergency Customs Modernization and Trade
  Facilitation project
• Key objective to increase Government revenues
  from Customs through (a) better administration
  and collection of existing customs revenues and
  (b) facilitating trade and transit to increase
  the customs revenue base.

15
Pakistan Promotion of trade and transport sectors

• Addressing trade and transport facilitation
  measures and its
• implementation.

16
Support to trade facilitation platforms in
developing countries

• Aims at assisting developing countries and, in
• particular, least developed countries, in
• implementing specific trade facilitation
• institutional development mechanisms. The
• project has been focusing on two types of
• trade facilitation platforms, namely
• facilitation bodies and single window facilities.

17
Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO)

• Introduction of international multimodal
• transport operations in the ECO region
• covering both Multimodal Transport and
• Trade Facilitation issues.

18
Capacity building in trade and transport
facilitation for land locked and transit
developing countries

• Aims at providing land locked and transit
• developing countries with sustainable capacity to
• plan and implement regional trade and transport
  facilitation initiatives through local trade and
  transport facilitation clusters and partnerships
  in maritime, inland and border trading
  communities.

19
5. Training andKnowledge dissemination

• WTO-related workshops
• Organized with WTO UNIDO EU, etc.
• Trade logistics events
• ICT transport (Rio, Nov.03) Course on MT
  Logistics.

20
5. Training andKnowledge dissemination
(continued)

• Longer-term training
• UNCTAD X Para.166 International Economic
  Agenda
• Course on Logistics Courses with World Maritime
  Uni.
• Publications
• Review of Maritime Transport 2005.

21
6. Doha Declaration

• 27. Recognizing the case for further expediting
  the movement, release and clearance of goods
  including goods in transit and the need for
  enhanced technical assistance and capacity
  building in this area, we agree that negotiations
  will take place after the Fifth Session of the
  Ministerial Conference on the basis of a
  decision, by explicit consensus, at that Session
  on modalities of negotiations. In the period
  until the Fifth Session, the Council for Trade in
  Goods shall review and as appropriate, clarify
  and improve relevant aspects of Articles V, VIII
  and X of the GATT 1994 and identify the trade
  facilitation needs and priorities of Members, in
  particular developing and least-developed
  countries. We commit ourselves to ensuring
  adequate technical assistance and support for
  capacity building in this area.
• (WT/MIN(01)/DEC/W/1, 14 November 2001)

22
7. Trade Facilitation including transit and the
WTO

• WTO member States agreed
• to launch negotiations on trade facilitation,
  aiming at the establishment of an agreement to
  further expedite the movement, release and
  clearance of goods, including goods in transit by
  clarifying andimproving relevant aspects of
  GATT Articles V, VIII X.
• To ensure technical assistance and support for
  capacity building.

23
Art. V Freedom of Transit

• Simplify transit rules and procedures
• Simplify customs procedures and documentation
  requirements
• Use of international standards (e.g. TIR)
• Minimize burden on transit operations
• Secure non-discriminatory treatment
• Revisit fees, charges and securities
• Support creation of regional systems and
  corridors
• Foster cooperation among administrations

24
Art. VIII Fees and formalities

• Reduce, legitimize fees and charges
• Simplify standardize
• Introduce simplified customs release
  clearance
• Establish risk assessment authorized
  traders
• Customs Automation
• Coordinate official controls
• Foster integrity

25
Art. X Publication of trade regulations

• Complete transparency of all relevant laws and
  procedures
• Establish mechanisms towards publication and
  availability of information
• Consultation periodic review
• Establish consultative/feedback mechanisms and
  minimum time periods before entry into force
• Customs appeal procedures
• Establish review and appeal procedures and due
  process

26
UNCTADs Contribution

• 1. WTO negotiations process
• 2. Regional Co-operation in Transit

27
1. WTO negotiations process

• A short-term/immediate technical assistance to
  enable negotiators (GVA Capitals) to better
  evaluate the implications of the negotiated TF
  rules on their development policies and
  objectives.
• Longer-term technical assistance aimed at
  enhancing national capabilities to effectively
  implement the negotiated TF rules.

28
2. Regional Co-Operation in Transit

• 1. Challenges and Opportunities for transit
  facilitation, to name a few.
• 2. Importance of Regional Co-operation
• 3. What should happen for Reginal Co- operation
  to accelerate
• Implementation of various instruments such as
  ECO-TTFA
• Cooperative Work

29
1. Challenges and Opportunities for transit
facilitation, to name a few.

• level of infrastructure development needed to
  facilitate transit thus, increased budgetary
  allocations required
• reforms required to modernize and harmonize
  regulatory, institutional and managerial systems

30
1. Challenges and Opportunities for transit
facilitation(continued)

• Technical assistance support including
• Negotiation and adoption of the legal
  instruments-
• Legislative work to translate and internalise the
  legal instrument into national legislation
• Mobilization of financial and human resources in
  support of implementation of the intended
  reforms and
• Management of change on a sustainable basis.

31
1. Challenges and Opportunities for transit
facilitation, to name a few(continued)

• Need for increased financial support at regional
  and sub-regional level for transit promotion
• construction, maintenance and improvement of
  transport, storage and other transit-related
  facilities, including alternative routes and
  improved communications.

32
2. Importance of Regional Co-operation

• As cost being serious impediment to development,
  cooperation in transport, trade and transit
  facilitation could yield important benefits in
  improving economic performance of the region
• Harnessing vast resources in the region require
  high degree of RC

33
2. Importance of Regional Co-operation
(continued)

• Could contribute to building trust and confidence
  in the region
• In order to facilitate transit traffic as goods
  cross more than one national border, regional and
  subregional approaches to transit co-operation
  has become the main vehicle for achieving the
  aims set forth in Article V of GATT.

34
3. What should happen for Reginal Co-operation
to accelerate

• Political Will with less vested interests
• Long term process recognizing short years of
  independence
• Donor's understanding of culture and history of
  the region
• Promote "win-win" solutions not "we win-you lose"
  and "we win we lose"

35
4. Implementation of various instruments such as
ECO-TTFA

• Implement provisions of the Economic
  Cooperation Organizations negotiated major
  initiative in transit and transport sectors in
  the region.

36
5. Cooperative work

• With all UN Regional Commissions and other
  agencies such as ITC, UNIDO, IMO, WB, IMF and
• With intergovernmental organizations such as WTO,
  WCO, OECD, ECO
• With business sectors institutions such as ICC,
  FIATA, IAPH.

37
Co-operation with Islamic Republic of Iran
Building Bridges

• Iran as a Transit Hub in the Western Asia
• Region-wide Potential for Iranian Railroad
  Transit
• UNCTADs Specific Cooperation with Iran

38
Iran as a Transit Hub in the Western Asia

1. Region-wide Potential for Iranian Railroad
   Transit
2. UNCTADs Specific Cooperation with Iran
3. UNCTADs Specific Cooperation with Iran
4. Need for Partnerships

39
Iran as a Transit Hub in the Western Asia

• Half way between the East and the West, and the
  North and the South and promises a suitable
  market for providing transport services in
  international trade.
• Potential for transit of goods in Iran's railway,
  road, ports and shipping, airways, and compound
  transportation sectors requires good planning and
  coordinations

40
Iran as a Transit Hub in the Western Asia
(continued)

• Iran providing transit links to Afghanistan and
  to Northern neighbours Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan
  and Kazakhstan and more to other countries from
  their South-Northern initiative.
• Promotion of South-North Corridor

41
Region-wide Potential for Iranian Railroad
Transit

• Railway is an important mean of transport used
  for transit of goods and is becoming increased
  important in the region
• Transit corridor from the South-East to the west
  could connect Singapore to Europe by railway
  provided when it links railway between Kerman and
  Zahedan inside Iran and railway between
  Bangladesh and Thailand.
• transit corridor starting China and passes
  through Central Asian countries and Iran linking
  with Sarakhs-Mashhad railroad could provide
  transportation via major following routes

42
Region-wide Potential for Iranian Railroad
Transit(continued)

• The northern route which passes through Jolfa and
  joins railroads of Azerbaijan, Armenia, Georgia,
  Russia and Ukraine to the Black Sea and Eastern
  and Northern Europe.
• The western route which joins the Middle East
  Arab countries and Europe through Turkey.
• The third project is a northern transit corridor
  which provides for transportation from Japan and
  Korea to Europe by means of the Russian
  Federation's route. By this route and a diversion
  toward the railway network of central Asia,
  Transit Transport becomes available over the
  Iranian land towards the Middle East countries

43
Region-wide Potential for Iranian Railroad
Transit(continued)

• Requires an integrated and co-ordinated approach
  and Planning to take advantage of this unique
  location between all transport modes and related
  sectors in Iran. More specifically requires
  development and upgrade of transit facilities to
  respond to the needs of the CAR, Afghanistan and
  others

44
UNCTADs Specific Cooperation with Iran

• ASYCUDA Being implemented with the Iran Customs
  Authority
• ACIS Port Tracker Module organized with Ports
  and Shipping Organization at Shaheed Rajaee
  Port (Bander Abbas)
• -Rail Tracker possibility was also explored
• Role of TF Measures in Improved Transport

45
UNCTADs Specific Cooperation with Iran
(continued)

• Promotion of Transit Cooperation
• Transport and Terminal Organization (TTO) has
  requested assistance in modernisation the freight
  management system on roads
• Active participation in regional project of
  Multimodal transport

46
Need for Partnerships

• Partnerships can play an important role in the
  effective implementation of trade and transport
  facilitation measures. They contribute to
  increase developing countries participation in
  global trade.
• Multilateral platforms assist in achieving this
  goal
• The UN-Trade Facilitation Cooperation Scheme
• The Global Facilitation Partnership for
  Transportation and Trade (www.gfptt.org).

47
Thank You

• Sham Bathija, UNCTAD Coordinator
• For Central Asia and its Affiliated Institutions
• and the ECO Region
• DSITE/UNCTAD/United Nations
• CH 1211 Geneva, Switzerland
• Telephone [phone]
• Fax [phone]
• Email sham.bathija_at_unctad.org

48
END