On 12 December 2019, UNESCAP and GTI Secretariat co-organised the International Seminar on Trade Facilitation in North-East Asia on “Trade-Transport Facilitation Nexus: Developments and Possible Approaches for North-East Asia” back-to-back with the 7th UNNExT Task Force Meeting on Cross-border Electronic Data Exchange on 11 December in Changchun, PR China.
The two events were followed by the 4th GTI Trade and Investment Committee (TIC) and GTI Customs Sub-Committee (CSC) Meeting on 12-13 December 2019. GTI TIC and CSC members from relevant ministries and customs agencies as well as experts from partner organisations including UNESCAP, WCO, and GIZ attended the events.
This year’s UNESCAP-GTI International Seminar discussed a cross-sectoral topic: trade-transport facilitation nexus. Government officials and experts from UNESCAP, WCO, academia and the private sector shared policy perspectives, experiences, and insights on the related issues. SRECA presented on GIZ approaches regarding trade facilitation.
During the meetings, the TIC and CSC members reviewed the progress and achievement since the meetings in 2018 and discussed the Work Plan for 2020. Supported by GIZ expert Jeff Procak, TIC members discussed the stock-taking on the Roadmap for Trade and Investment Cooperation of GTI (2017-2020). Furthermore, Korea Overseas Infrastructure and Urban Development Corporation (KIND) was introduced as a new cooperation partner. CSC members reviewed a new project proposal proposed by Mongolian customs on “Promotion of SMEs’ Export-Oriented Production by Enhancing the Implementation of Inward and Outward Processing Procedures”. The project is supported by GIZ technical assistance. CSC confirmed that members will support the project.
SRECA will continue to strengthen Mongolian driven projects on a regional level with respective partners in Northeast Asia. The 5th GTI TIC and CSC meetings and the 10th International Seminar on Trade Facilitation will be hosted and chaired by Korea.