"Digital and Sustainable Trade Facilitation for Regional Prosperity"
Background:
The Asia-Pacific Trade Facilitation Forum is the leading regional platform for the exchange of information, experiences and practice on trade facilitation. The APTFF has been organized by the Asian Development Bank (ADB), the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) and a growing number of partners since 2009, including UNCTAD, WCO and WTO. It is held biennially and attracts more than 250 participants from 30 countries.
The 9th Asia-Pacific Trade Facilitation Forum focused on how digital and sustainable trade facilitation measures and practices can bring prosperity to the Asia-Pacific region. The Forum investigated opportunities from trade digitalization for sustainable development of the region, and challenges ahead in materializing such opportunities. it featured panel discussions, interactive and informative sessions allowing participants to share experiences and perspectives on different aspects of trade facilitation, including trade finance, cross-border ecommerce, paperless trade, and innovative application of emerging technologies, among others. The Forum brought relevant regional initiatives and implementation cases to each session to make it a unique opportunity to share knowledge and practical lessons.
This year's Forum is organized by ESCAP and ADB in collaboration with the Government of India and the Confederation of Indian Industries. A number of side events were organized throughout the week in collaboration with other partners to provide more in-depth exploration of pertinent trade facilitation issues. The Forum also included an exhibition for relevant service providers and international organizations to promote their work in this area.
Meeting Venue:
The APTFF 2019 and all the side events were held at Hyatt Regency Delhi
Side events:
- Regional Organizations Cooperation Mechanism for Trade Facilitation (ROC-TF) Annual Meeting, 16 September
- 6th Meeting of the UNNExT Task Force on Cross-border Electronic Data Exchange: Northeast Asia, 16 September
- UNNExT Advisory Committee Meeting, 18 September
- APTFF Capacity Building Workshop on Cross-border Paperless Trade Facilitation,19 September
- OECD-ESCAP Workshop on Helping SMEs Internationalise through Trade Facilitation, 19 September
- SASEC Workshop on Performance Measurement for Trade Facilitation, 19 September
- Information Session on Asia-Pacific Trade Agreement (APTA),19 September
- APTA Trade Facilitation Working Group Meeting
Schedule of the week
Programme
List of Participants
APTFF Trade Facilitation Innovation Award 2019-2020
Summary & Highlights
Related Publications:
Asia-Pacific Trade Facilitation Report 2019: Bridging Trade Finance Gaps through Technology
Presentations:
- Session 1.1 - Mr. Yann Duval, Chief, Trade Policy and Facilitation Section, ESCAP
- Session 1.2 - Ms. Aileen Pangilinan, Senior Regional Cooperation Officer, South Asia Regional Cooperation Division, ADB
- Panelists for Session 1: Digital and Sustainable Trade Facilitation in Asia and the Pacific–State of play and prospect
- Session 2.1 - Mr. Xiaobing Tang, Counsellor, WTO
- Session 2.2 - Mr. Tahseen Khan, member of UNNExT Advisory Committee and UN/CEFACT Vice-chair
- Panelists for Session 2: Digital implementation of the WTO Agreement on Trade Facilitation-Lessons from implementation
- Session 3.1 - Mr. Melvin Spreij, Head, Standards and Trade Development Facility (STDF) Secretariat
- Session 3.2 - Mr. Mohit Sippy, Senior Programme and Policy Manager, DFID Asia Regional British High Commission
- Session 3.3 - Mr. S Suresh Kumar, Additional Chief Executive Officer, Government e-Marketplace (GeM), India
- Panelists for Session 3: Aligning trade facilitation with sustainable development goals: Good practices in trade facilitation fo
- Session 4.1 - Mr. Kijin Kim, Economist, ADB
- Session 4.2 - Ms. Emily Chin, Chief Product Officer, Capital & Credit Risk Manager (CCRM)
- Panelists for Session 4: Facilitating trade finance forinclusive growth: Bridging gaps through technology
- Session 5.1 - Mr. Jong Woo Kang, Principal Economist, ADB
- Session 5.2 - Mr. Guan Chengzhu, General Administration of China Customs
- Panelists for Session 5: Trade facilitation for e-commerce: Emerging innovations for seamless cross-border transactions
- Session 6.1 - IPPC ePhyto Solution Implementing the Generic ePhyto National System in the Asia Pacific region
- Session 6.2 - CoDEx Container Digital Exchange
- Session 6.3 - Enhancing Digital Connectivity for China-ASEAN Trade
Contacts: Trade, Investment and Innovation Division
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