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A decade after independence, Armenia embarked on a radical reform path to create a vibrant, market economy – triggering substantial economic growth, often reaching double digits.   As recent trends and volatility indicate, sustaining such growth requires addressing a range of structural challenges…
Policymakers looking for innovative solutions to global problems are increasingly recognizing that the answers have been around for a long time even before the earth got populated by humans. Trees can help achieve pressing global objectives for sustainable development, biodiversity conservation,…
The COVID-19 pandemic restrictions have brought the benefits of paperless trading to the forefront of attention. Many countries are considering issuing, accepting and exchanging electronic documents for paperless trading. Issues related to paperless trading are also at the core of World Trade…
Since their independence, countries in Eastern Europe and the South Caucasus (EESC) – Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, the Republic of Moldova and Ukraine – have introduced far-reaching reforms to boost innovation and benefit from the potential of the growing knowledge-based economy.…
Building regional capacity for devising and putting into practice trade facilitation policies is critical to strengthen trade as a driver of sustainable and resilient recovery. UNECE teamed up with the Kyrgyz Economic University (KEU) to produce a professional development course on trade…
Developing the capacity of statistical systems to respond to ever-changing demands is a core component of UNECE statistical work, linked directly to several of the targets of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Key tools used for capacity development have traditionally been face-to-face…
UNECE is deepening its support to help countries of the region capitalize on innovation to recover from the pandemic and realize the ambitious vision of the 2030 Agenda.  The UNECE Innovation for Sustainable Development Review (I4SDR) of Uzbekistan, which is currently underway, will set out…
Countries of Central Asia, the Caucasus and Eastern Europe have been hit hard by the socioeconomic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, which threatens to derail sustainable development progress in the region. However, there is also a stronger momentum towards regional cooperation, and countries can…
In 2022, we will celebrate 30 years since the formulation of the Fundamental Principles of Official Statistics and their adoption by UNECE. The Fundamental Principles were subsequently adopted in 1994 by the  United Nations Statistical Commission; endorsed by the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC…
  Migration is an old and growing phenomenon – the United Nations Populations Division estimates that around 266 million people live outside their country of origin. In the UNECE region, by 2019 there were around 45 million people from Eastern Europe and Central Asia living abroad, with more than…
Both innovation and Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs) are essential drivers of economic development, environmental sustainability and social inclusiveness. The UNECE region was hit hard by the COVID-19 crisis, not only because of the health crisis itself but also, even as the threat recedes…
Innovation has huge potential to drive sustainable development if supported by a vibrant innovation ecosystem. This requires effective linkages and collaboration at national level, and an innovation culture nurtured by a system of support to start ups and institutions such as business incubators.…
The economic and sanitary crisis caused by the pandemic calls for new ways of doing business. We need to digitalize data and document exchange in cross-border transport and supply chains to avoid person-to-person contacts, while increasing the efficiency of trade and transport operations. However,…
International collaboration facilitated by UNECE is helping statistical organizations around the world move towards producing essential statistics in innovative ways based on machine learning (ML) and artificial intelligence (AI).  The Machine Learning 2021 Group, led by the United Kingdom’s Data…
A small sub-set of small- and medium-sized enterprises – innovative, high-growth enterprises (IHGEs) – play an outsize role in innovation and structural transformation across the world. They spearhead experimentation with new ideas to create value, address challenges, and reduce transaction costs…
The Government of Ukraine is currently implementing a broad policy agenda aimed at achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and pursuing a resilient, inclusive and sustainable post-COVID recovery. UNECE, together with UNDP, UNICEF and WHO, is supporting these efforts through a Joint…
The countries of Eastern Europe and the South Caucasus (the EESC sub-region), Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, the Republic of Moldova and Ukraine have come a long way in their transition from centrally planned towards market-based economies. After a difficult first decade following…
The COVID-19 pandemic has hit the economy hard. Global GDP is estimated to have fallen by 3.5 in 2020, and even more steeply in parts of the UNECE region. International trade has been disrupted. Progress towards the UN Sustainable Development Goals has slowed down at a time when it would be…
With the COVID-19 pandemic, Trade facilitation has acquired even greater importance for the land-locked countries of Central Asia, as it helps remove burdensome formalities for their trade and transport operations. Simplifying and digitalizing procedures helps diminish physical contacts along…
Uzbekistan has shown remarkable growth in its transition from a centrally planned to a market based economy, with annual growth rates between 5 and 9 per cent since 2004. Innovation, namely fostering experimentation and collaboration between innovation stakeholders to find new ways for creating…
As globalization increases the diversity of innovative ways of doing business around the world, economies become ever more interdependent. Multinational enterprise groups, or MNEs, have operations in several countries, so counting up their economic impacts entails looking across borders to gather…
Director General of Statistics Finland Marjo Bruun has chaired the Conference of European Statisticians (CES), UNECE’s statistical body, since 2016. As she retires from Statistics Finland at the end of this month, she reflects on how leading this international statistical work has broadened her…
UNECE is supporting Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, the Republic of Moldova and Ukraine to further enhance strategic environmental assessment (SEA) and transboundary environmental impact assessment (EIA) to prevent and mitigate damage to the environment and health from economic growth. A…
Innovation is central to build back better after the COVID-19 pandemic and to drive sustainable development. Making up over 10% of Gross Domestic Product globally, public procurement carries the potential to stimulate broad experimentation with new ideas and technologies to attain economic, social…
Digital platforms have the potential to transform society fundamentally – creating new opportunities for economic growth and unlocking benefits in terms of poverty reduction on the one hand, and environmental sustainability on the other. They could help support less resource-intensive consumption…