Trade Development and Facilitation for

Economies in Transition

Geneva 27 October 2009

Palais des Nations, Hall V

PROGRAMME

10:00 - 10:20 Opening Statements

Ms. Larisa Kislyakova, Deputy Minister of Economy and Trade, Republic of Tajikistan

Ms. Virginia Cram-Martos, Director, Trade and Timber Division, United Nations Economic Commission for Europe

10:20 – 11:15Session 1: The Region in the Global Economic Downturn

Moderator: Ms. Larisa Kislyakova, Deputy Minister of Economic Development and Trade, Tajikistan

Analysis of recent economic developments and perspectives: Current situation - impact of the financial and economic crisis on trade in the economies in transition with emphasis on the SPECA countries, Jose Palacin, UNECE Economic Cooperation and Integration Division

Case study from Central Asia: The crisis and Kyrgyzstan’s foreign trade, Kurmanbek Ukulov, Vice Minister of Economic Regulation of Kyrgyzstan and Anarkan Rahmanova, Head of Department, Ministry of Economic Regulation of Kyrgyzstan

Discussion

Progress in WTO accessions, Mr Cato Adrian, WTO secretariat

11:15 - 11:30 Coffee Break

11:30 – 13:00 Session 2: Panel discussion: Trade Integration and Inclusion in the Global Economy: The development perspective

Moderator: Mr Malcolm McKinnon, SITPRO, UK

With the participation of (tbc): WTO, UNECE, UNDP, UNCTAD, ITC, WIPO, the European Commission, the World Bank, OECD, AITIC

Discussion

13:00 - 15:00 Lunch Break

15:00 – 15:50 Session 3: The Eurasian Economic Community (EurAsEC): Needs and priorities for trade development

Moderator: Vadim Anatolievich Gustov, Chair of the Committee on CIS of the Council of theRussian Federation

Legislative basis for the cooperation among EurAsEC Member States in trade and the economy, Vadim Gustov, Chair, Committee on CIS at the Council of theRussian Federation

Information technology support for trade procedures in the EurAsEC countries using e-government, Evgeny Eliseev, vice chair of the Commission of the Council of the Russian Federation on information policy

Customs codex of the Customs Union of EurAsEC -- legislative base for customs facilitation in the process of establishing single customs territory/ space, Petr Zverev, Executive secretary of the Inter-parliamentary Assembly of EurAsEC

Trade facilitation and improvement of customs legislation: international experience and prospects for other countries-members of EurAsEC, Andrei Toporygin, Head of the department in the Interparliamentary Assembly of the EurAsEC

15:50 – 16:45 Session 4: Trade and Transport Facilitation Advancing the Competitiveness of Economies in Transition

Moderator: Malcolm McKinnon, SITPRO, UK

The economic impact of transport facilitation in the transition economies, Eva Molnar, Director, UNECE Transport Division

The Single Window: benefits from an advanced trade facilitation tool and UN standards for a transition economy, Slavica Kutirov, Customs Administration of the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia

Implementation of international standards and techniques for trade facilitation in transition economies: presentation by UN/CEFACT

Trade facilitation for the land-locked countries: presentation by Mongolia

Discussion

16:45 – 17:05Session 5: Regulatory cooperation as a means to overcome technical barriers to trade (TBT): Capacity-building needs and priorities

UNECE Sectoral Initiative on Earthmoving Machinery, Mr. Dan Roley, Convenor, UNECE Sectoral Initiative on Earthmoving Machinery, Chairperson, ISO TC 127/SC 2 & Standards and Regulations Managers, Caterpillar

Discussion

17:05 – 17:25Session 6: Agricultural quality standards enhancing exports from the transition economies

UNECE’s assistance to economies in transition, Kurmanbek Ukulov, Vice Minister of Economic Regulation of Kyrgyzstan

Discussion

17:25 – 18:00Session 7: Conclusions - Mapping the Road Ahead

  • Long-term objectives for the region
  • Challenges and strategic directions

Recommendations