The Asia-Pacific Trade and Investment Report (APTIR) is a publication prepared by the Trade and Investment Division of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific. It provides information on and independent analyses of regional trends and developments in trade and investment; emerging issues in trade, investment and trade facilitation policies; and impacts of these policies on countries’ abilities to meet the challenges of achieving inclusive and sustainable development.
Simplification and harmonization of trade data and documentary requirements can contribute significantly to the reduction of time and costs for international trade transactions. Harmonizing data used in trade documents and aligning them with international standards also ensures data interoperability among the various parties engaged in a trade transaction.
The Asia-Pacific Development Journal (APDJ) is published twice a year by the Macroeconomic Policy and Development Division of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP).
The primary objective of the APDJ is to provide a platform for the exchange of knowledge, experience, ideas, information and data on all aspects of economic and social development issues and concerns facing the region and to stimulate policy debate and assist in the formulation of policy.
Concept note for the High-level Subregional Forum on Accelerating Achievement of the Millennium Development Goals in South Asia, which took place on 17-18 February 2012 in New Delhi, India. The Forum was jointly organized by UNESCAP, ADB and UNDP
The Asia-Pacific region is becoming a significant driver of global economic growth. In 2010, the region’s developing countries grew at a rate of 8.8 per cent compared to 2.7 per cent for the world’s developed economies. In the region, mobile telephony and broadband internet in particular are bringing unprecedented digital opportunities that are transforming societies. However, a number of gaps, particularly in infrastructure, need to be addressed to ensure that these digital opportunities do not engender a digital divide, thereby accelerating regional inequities.
Asia-Pacific MDGs reports have been produced since 2004 by the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific / Asian Development Bank / United Nations Development Programme regional partnership to support the achievements of the MDGs.
High food prices have put increasing inflationary pressures across the Asia-Pacific region and threatened food security. Bad weather in important food-producing countries and speculation in commodity markets have affected global food supplies and added volatility to booming commodity markets that have been fueled in the long-term by increasing global demand. High food prices have threatened to slowdown economic growth, poverty reduction and inclusive sustainable development throughout the region.
There is ample evidence that successful implementation of bilateral or regional trade and economic integration initiatives would have a very significant impact on intraregional trade in Asia and the Pacific. However, little is known about the level of intraregional trade costs in the region and to what extent these costs may have decreased over time. This paper introduces new aggregate and sectoral estimates of bilateral trade costs in Asia and the Pacific available in an updated and extended version of the ESCAP Trade Cost Database (Version 2).
While efforts to mitigate climate change continues by reducing greenhouse gases (ghg), the impacts of climate
change has resulted in changes to the hydro-meteorological events of floods and droughts, translated in more
extreme case of events. Climate Change has also increase the melting of the polar ice and the water towers of the
himalaya’s hindu Kush, and threaten coastal settlements with sea-level rise. all this will have significant impact on
