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Nepal's graduation from LDC : potential implications and issues for consideration
No full textNepal has achieved significant socio-economic progress despite being confronted by unfavourable conditions such as its being landlocked and susceptible to natural disasters. It has demonstrated a paradoxical development pattern in which a relatively low long-term average economic growth has been accompanied by brisk poverty reduction. The country met criteria for graduation from the group of least developed countries (LDCs) in two consecutive United Nations triennial reviews in 2015 and 2018. With a per capita income of just 60 per cent of the graduation threshold level of per capita income, it was quite extraordinary for Nepal to meet the other two graduation criteria, the Human Asset Index and the Economic Vulnerability Index. It provides a classic case in which a country’s achieving LDC graduation thresholds do not adequately reflect its challenges of achieving sustainable development through building productive capacities as envisaged in the Istanbul Programme of Actions (IPoA) for LDCs. Most concrete LDC-specific international support measures (ISMs) are related to international trade from which Nepal has not been able to benefit much. While the IPoA and 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda anticipated LDC trade share to double by 2020, in reality, it has declined with Nepal’s merchandise exports falling in both absolute and relative terms. The 2018 United Nations Committee for Development Policy (CDP) decision to defer the recommendation of graduation until the next review was a judicious one and further deferments could also be considered as part of ISMs in helping Nepal consolidate its socio-economic achievements and securing Sustainable Development Goals. For Nepal, dealing with general development challenges, promoting external competitiveness, trade capacity building, and exploring enhanced trading opportunities in neighbouring and regional partner countries, amongst others, should remain important policy priorities.I. Introduction ......................................................................................................................... 2 II. A snapshot of socio-economic progress and Nepal’s path to LDC graduation .................. 3 2.1 Socio-economic progress .............................................................................................. 3 2.2 Nepal’s way to LDC graduation ................................................................................. 15 III. Potential implications of graduation ................................................................................. 17 3.1 Preference erosion in international trade .................................................................... 17 3.1.1 Preferential market access in the European Union ............................................ 17 3.1.2 Market access conditions in India ...................................................................... 22 3.1.3 Market access conditions in the United States ................................................... 23 3.1.4 Market access in Canada and China .................................................................. 25 3.1.5 Market access conditions in other countries ...................................................... 29 3.1.6 Tariff implications for export earnings .............................................................. 30 3.2 Loss of policy space .................................................................................................... 31 3.2.1 Support for agriculture ....................................................................................... 32 3.2.2 Supporting non-agricultural exports .................................................................. 33 3.2.3 Trade-related aspects of Intellectual Property Rights and support for the pharmaceutical industry ..................................................................................... 34 3.3 Implications for Development Financing ................................................................... 35 IV. Recommendations and way forward ................................................................................. 38 4.1 Consideration of an extended period of deferment for graduation and transition period ..................................................................................................................................... 39 4.2 Proactive engagement with trading partners on post-graduation preferential trade regimes ........................................................................................................................ 43 4.3 Making an all-out effort to explore exporting opportunities in neighbouring and regional partner countries and improving connectivity .............................................. 44 4.4 Promoting external competitiveness and trade capacity Building .............................. 47 4.5 Attracting FDI for export success ............................................................................... 49 4.6 Dealing with development challenges in achieving SDGs ......................................... 49 4.7 Establishment of a national committee ....................................................................... 50 V. Conclusion ........................................................................................................................ 5
An in-depth national study on ICT infrastructure deployment along road transport and energy infrastructure in Kyrgyzstan : part I
No full textInformation and communications technologies (ICTs) drive socioeconomic progress, and with the advent of advanced and emerging technologies, there is a growing demand for fibre-optic networks that can deliver broadband services. As the cost of building the fibre-optic infrastructure is high, co-deployment could minimize costs during construction. Moreover, co-deployment creates opportunities for new business models for various infrastructure facilities, and initiates long-term strategic planning for the development of infrastructure networks.
Kyrgyzstan is at the stage of developing a market for modern ICTs, such as mobile-broadband and fixed-broadband access. The country has a legislative framework for the development of the telecommunications sector and digital technologies, although there is still room for improvement. For instance, the average cost of mobile-broadband and fixed-broadband services is lower than the average for the Central Asia region, but quite high relative to the country’s standard of living and quality of services. The telecommunications market of Kyrgyzstan is gradually developing competition in all segments to improve the quality of services and reduce costs.
See also Toolkit for ICT infrastructure co-deployment with road transport and energy infrastructure : part II</p
An enabling environment for women entrepreneurs in Cambodia
No full textThe objective of this module is to inform policymakers and support their policymaking skills with gender-related knowledge to create an enabling environment for ICT-empowered women entrepreneurs.
It is based on the WIFI Policymakers Module on "An Enabling Environment for Women Entrepreneurs". The contents, cases and examples were contextualized and specifically designed for Cambodia. </p
Coping with COVID-19 and enhancing long-term resilience to future shocks : an assessment of fuel-exporting countries in Asia and the Pacific
No full textCOVID-19 and the oil prices crash induced by it have imposed a double whammy on fuel-exporting countries in Asia and the Pacific. Compared to other countries, they are likely to experience greater economic weaknesses, as they face not only slowdown in economic activities, but also revenue shortfalls, deteriorating export earnings and capital flight, and depreciation pressure on currencies due to lower-than-expected oil prices. To cope with the immediate negative impacts of COVID-19, countries have introduced timely and necessary large and targeted fiscal and monetary policy measures. However, these immediate policy measures should not take the policy attention away from the long over-due and much-needed structural economic transformation in fuel-exporting countries. Excessive dependence on fuels, especially oil, has kept these countries very vulnerable to the commodity boom and bust cycles. Therefore, when designing economic recovery packages, countries should also embed long-term sustainability considerations by introducing measures that can help them diversify their economies and reduce reliance on fossil fuels
Policy perspectives 2019 : sustainable energy in Asia and the Pacific
Get PDFPolicy Perspectives 2019: Sustainable Energy in Asia and the Pacific provides a snapshot of the energy policy highlights of the ESCAP regional member states. The country profiles deliver an overview of the national energy policy framework along with the energy-related emissions reduction and climate change policies, which together aim to facilitate the energy transition to achieve Sustainable Development Goal 7 (SDG7).
The country profiles are divided into two sections: the policy context and enabling policies.
The policy context section outlines the current policy and regulatory framework of the energy sector in the ESCAP regional member states. This section also includes key findings on climate change and energy-related emission reduction policies and is largely based on the Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), which are reductions in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).
The enabling policies section provides specific information on national legislation and policies relevant to the three focus areas within the SDG7, i.e. Energy Access (primarily, electrification but also clean cooking), Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy. In addition, the case studies provide a quick glimpse on a selection of high-profile projects, national programmes and government initiatives in the energy sector to support relevant policies in different countries.
Policy documents indicated in the country profiles are linked to the policy database of the ESCAP Asia Pacific Energy Portal (https://asiapacificenergy.org), which allows access to official documents, also downloadable in a PDF format. The country profiles draw on official policy documents, statistics available through the ESCAP Asia Pacific Energy Portal and other international sources. The publication serve as a tool to assess the current status of selected indicators and policy developments in the area of sustainable energy
Connecting transport infrastructure networks in Asia and Europe in support of interregional sustainable transport connectivity : progress in enhancing transport connectivity between Asia and Europe
Get PDFThe connectivity between Asia and Europe is of global significance and is expected to continue. As freight transport
movement is based on trade flows, the relatedly high level of trade between Asia and Europe also implies a high level of
freight transport demand between these two regions. An efficient and sustainable connectivity that will enable an
improved movement of goods and services between the EU and Asia will thus contribute to economic growth and jobs, as
well as global competitiveness and trade.
Sustainable transport connectivity between Asia and Europe is thus one of the thematic areas of work in the United
Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific’s (ESCAP) Regional Action Programme for Sustainable
Transport Connectivity in Asia and the Pacific (Phase I, 2017-2021). Its main objective is to enhance transport
connectivity between these two regions through initiatives on infrastructure development and the harmonization of
technical standards, with the ultimate goal of creating an inter-regional coordination body that would synergize existing
mandates, stimulate actions and benchmark progress to foster seamless, sustainable and resilient transport connectivity
for passenger and freight.
This report was prepared by the UNESCAP Transport Division as part of the project entitled “Connecting transport
infrastructure networks in Asia and Europe in support of interregional sustainable transport connectivity” and benefitted
extensively from detailed substantive inputs courteously provided by the UNECE Sustainable Transport Division.
The report provides an overview of transport connectivity trends, existing challenge, as well as current initiatives, planning
and institutional arrangements, regulations, and standards. It also includes a section on the impact of the COVID-19
pandemic on transport connectivity between Asia and Europe, as well as relevant policy responses and recovery
measures. Lastly, suggested ways in for further enhancing transport connectivity between Asia and Europe through
coordinated efforts, are also provided.</p
Policy responses to Covid-19 : transport connectivity in Asia and Pacific
Get PDFThe current policy brief, prepared by ESCAP Transport Division, reviews countries’ initial responses to the outbreak and suggests some key takeaways that can inform current and future policy responses. The lessons from the COVID-19 experience, highlighted in this brief, suggest that:
Regional transport connectivity provides the most effective means of response in the course of a pandemic and in its aftermath and needs to be preserved; protectionist solutions reduce efficiencies and are vulnerable to future shocks.
More effective use of existing regional transport cooperation would make the response to such pandemics and emergency or disaster more effective.
Countries can seize upon the opportunity that the current pandemic provides for a decisive shift towards digitizing the processes involved in exchange of information to complete operational and regulatory transport controls.
In the aftermath of the crisis, the initiatives which contributed to making freight operations more sustainable, especially in environmental and social terms, should be retained, helping countries to build back better and make a quality leap in their sustainable transport connectivity
Information note : regional steering group history
No full text The "Information Note: Regional Steering Group History" provides an overview of the history and role of the Regional Steering Group (RSG) for Civil Registration and Vital Statistics (CRVS) in Asia and the Pacific. The main content includes: Background and Establishment, Functions and Responsibilities, Key Achievements, and Future Directions.</p
Towards an enabling policy for impact investment in Asia and the Pacific
No full textGovernments can leverage private capital for societal objectives by supporting impact investment. Impact investments are investments made with the intention to generate positive, measurable social and environmental impact alongside a financial return. An enabling policy environment helps to attract more funds to impact investment, to grow impact-oriented businesses, and to facilitate the match between supply and demand. This report is targeted at policymakers and ecosystem players, such as representative bodies of impact investors or impact businesses. It introduces a conceptual framework for impact investment policies along with examples from the region. It aims to provide a basis for dialogue among policymakers as well as with ecosystem stakeholders to foster cross-learning and to promote policy actions that nurture the impact investment ecosystem across the countries of the region