Global Review of Aid for Trade
Global Review of Aid for Trade
27% of foreign trade turnover of Tajikistan, or 1.5 billion US dollars, is made with the South-South platform countries, while the export to these countries makes 18.5%, or 181.3 million US Dollars.
In Tajikistan, more than 70% of investment projects carried out by institutions or with the use of financial mechanisms of the South countries, is achieved through the South-South cooperation.
In this regard, I am confident that such cooperation should take place and that it will only contribute to the new initiatives of the private sector in our countries.
1. As you know, the role of the Silk Road in the history and the idea of its revival has long been discussed among academics and practitioners, as well as at the level of the various global and regional platforms.
Given the historical role of the Silk Road in the development of trade, the idea of its revival deserves the full support. Recently, the President of the People’s Republic of China took the initiative "The economic belt of the Silk Road, which is also known as One Belt, One Road.
The value and benefits of this initiative have been discussed at the last Summit of Heads of State of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, which took place in September 2014 in Dushanbe.
Among the agreements reached within the framework of the Summit, a Memorandum was signed between China and Tajikistan on the development of the initiative "Economic Belt Silk Road ". The document provides a mechanism for implementation of the initiative through the creation of a joint committee, which will be given the responsibility to review and establish priority projects within the approved areas of cooperation.
The first organizational meeting of the Committee took place recently in Dushanbe, where we discussed the prospective areas of cooperation and agreed to discuss possible joint investment projects on the next meeting of the Committee.
I think the practice of discussing the prospects of bilateral cooperation between the countries involved in this initiative will form a bank of potential investment projects for further discussion in the framework of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization.
We believe that projects in energy and transport infrastructure have the great potential.
It should be noted that Tajikistan has a positive experience with the multilateral platforms in the energy and transport sectors. For example, with the funding provided by dedicated lines of credit in China within the SCO framework, national highway Dushanbe – Chanak has been reconstructed and the 500 kilo-Volt power transmission line, connecting the North and the South of the country, was built, with the total investment of about 1 billion US dollars. These two objects have not only national, but also regional importance.
I think the implementation of such projects can serve as a good example in the implementation of South-South platform. Creating the necessary infrastructure is of paramount importance for the development of trade and for the combat against poverty in our countries.
Another project, which is being implemented with the participation of the countries of Central Asia and South Asia is the CASA-1000 project.
I would like to note that this project will create the necessary conditions for the expanded reproduction in the South through the creation of a value chain, which in turn will reduce the number of people living below the poverty line.
2.The regional approach is important, as each region has its undeniable competitive advantage.
This is especially important for small and landlocked countries. Closer co-operation of these countries on a regional basis will allow acting as a single region in promoting national products to foreign markets, finding an own niche and creating favorable conditions for attracting regional investments.
Here I would like to mention the CAREC Program, which includes 10 countries in Central Asia and which is supported by six international institutions.
The Program has one primary goal - development through cooperation, leading to accelerated economic growth and poverty reduction.
The program supports the implementation of priority regional projects in four priority areas: transport, trade facilitation, trade policy and energy, and is based on four basic pillars:
- Knowledge and capacity building;
- Regional infrastructure networks pillar
- Trade, investment and business development; and
- Regional public good.
A good example of the implementation of intra-regional objectives is cooperation in the field of transport, in particular the implementation of the six transport corridors.
The development of these corridors is important for the region as a whole, but for Tajikistan corridor №5, which connects East Asia through Central Asia to the Arabian Sea is of particular importance. The route passes through the People's Republic of China, the Kyrgyz Republic, Tajikistan and Afghanistan. The corridor includes 3,700 km of roads and 2,000 km of railways.
Today, we see the development of transport corridors as one of the primary conditions for the development of the whole set of related industries in the region. CAREC impact includes the following:
· Better transport connectivity;
· More energy resources and trade;
· Better customs systems;
· Better regional perspective in national planning;
· More capacity, networking and best practices;
· Greater competitiveness and productivity;
· More investment, jobs, higher incomes;
· Improved water and power supply.
Experts estimate that the use of transport corridors for the transit of goods, for example, from China to South Asia or in the opposite direction, will reduce the delivery time from 2 months to 2 weeks, or even less.
In addition it will involve a certain amount of economic operators in the value chain along the corridor.
Besides fruitful cooperation in the framework of CAREC, countries in the region continue to search for ways to reduce logistics costs for cargo delivery. An example is the ongoing negotiations on the tripartite Agreement on Transit and Trade among Tajikistan, Afghanistan and Pakistan.
This agreement not only provides admission to the market of transport services to operators of the three countries, but also opens the markets of neighboring countries, which will contribute to the multiplication effect.
Another example is the United Nations Special Program for the Economies of Central Asia. This program provides the opportunity to discuss trade issues, including those urgent ones, and also pays a lot of attention to trade facilitation.
I am sure, that being aware of our regional competitive advantages, we need to use them to achieve better economic results, with the ultimate goal - to improve the living standards of our populations.
3. As you know, 2015 is the year of global action and a year of development. Together with international and national development institutions, intensive work is on regarding the development of the global objectives of sustainable development. In September this year in New York City, the UN Summit will take place, where the new development goals for the period 2015-2030 will be adopted.
Development Agenda for the period after 2015 will be based on the achievements made through the implementation of the Millennium Development Goals - eight goals identified after the UN Summit in 2000.
I am sure that the experience of the implementation of the MDGs will serve as a basis for setting priorities, taking into account the interconnections of all aspects of sustainable development: social, economic and environmental.
In this context, the objectives of ensuring the sustainable development of the financial resources will be one of the main themes of the Third International Conference on Financing for Development, to be held in Addis Ababa on 13-16 July this year.
I think the interaction and experience gained in the South-South platform will help the adoption of relevant objectives of sustainable development and providing necessary financial resources for such development.
