Press Releases
Displaying Results 51 - 75 of 128
Azerbaijan, like the other five countries in Eastern Europe and the South Caucasus (EESC) - Armenia, Belarus, Georgia, the Republic of Moldova and Ukraine - has grown rapidly following a rocky and difficult transition from a centrally planned to a market economy over the past decades. This momentum
Trade facilitation reforms are a continuous process. Thus, a periodic review of the progress made in this endeavour is beneficial for the stakeholders in trade facilitation. Whether it is a general measure like submitting a customs declaration or an advanced measure like cross-border exchange of
Major disruptions in trade flows from the COVID-19 pandemic have come at huge economic and social cost. Building on lessons learned from the crisis, international experts from the United Nations Centre for Trade Facilitation and Electronic Business (UN/CEFACT) have set out guidelines to help reduce
Armenia has used non-tariff measures (NTMs) to contain the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on businesses and other supply chain actors. However, the Government’s ability to unleash the full efficiency potential of support measures and NTMs was undermined by capacity shortfalls in the areas of trade
Understanding when, where and why perfectly edible food drops out of our food supply chains even in the most food insecure countries is one of the challenges of our times. With one third of food produced for human consumption lost and wasted every year globally and over 820 million people going
E-government has a key role to play in achieving the SDGs. Governments in the UNECE region are using tools like ICTs, big data, artificial intelligence and machine learning to improve public services, empower citizens and ultimately provide a better quality of life. The COVID-19 pandemic has only
What started as a business idea back in 2016 is now one of the leading small and medium enterprise producers and exporters of dry and dried produce in Uzbekistan. Akram, the young entrepreneur behind this success story is just one of many examples where four international agencies have made a
Fairtrade International has signed UNECE’s Declaration for Gender Responsive Standards and Standards Development, on the anniversary of its opening. The Declaration, which has 64 signatories, aims to provide a practical framework for standard bodies seeking to make the standards they develop, and
When ships enter and leave ports, vital information about cargoes, dangerous goods, crews, vessel details and many other things has to be exchanged with the authorities ashore. Under International Maritime Organization’s (IMO) so-called FAL Convention
Coronaviruses, including the one responsible for the COVID-19 pandemic, are a large family of viruses that are common in animals, and can occasionally be transmitted to humans – a phenomenon known as “zoonosis”.Ensuring proper controls on the international trade in animals and animal products
Sustainable Development Goal Target 12.3 is to halve by 2030 per capita global food waste at the retail and consumer levels and reduce food losses along production and supply chains, including post-harvest losses. The need for action is urgent - consider for instance that on average 14% of all the
More than 9 million tonnes of melons of various types are produced worldwide every year. Most melons are consumed fresh, leading to an abundance of available produce in many regions of the world including in Central Asia. Compared to the overall production, export volumes in Central Asia are low
Harmonizing and standardizing not only trade procedures, but also the accompanying information flows, can unlock significant time and cost savings. For this, using the same terminology and the same semantics of terms in different languages is crucial.To support this aim, UNECE has today released
The Armenian economy is undergoing significant structural changes. Services are playing an increasingly important role, rising from around 46 per cent of the country’s GDP in 2012 to around 53 per cent in 2018, driven by information and communication technology (ICT), tourism and healthcare. The
Public procurement alone represents 15-20% of global GDP, while procurement commitments under the World Trade Organization’s Agreement on Public Procurement (GPA) have been estimated at around EUR 1.3 trillion. This is enormous purchasing power that can drive investment and innovation towards
Streamlining border crossing and helping traders to access international markets can provide significant stimulus to national economies. A Single Window for international trade is the ideal solution to achieving this; however, fostering the cooperation between government agencies and replacing
The third United Nations Global Survey on Digital and Sustainable Trade Facilitation 2019 has been launched by UNECE and its four counterpart United Nations Regional Commissions (UNRCs) across the globe. The Survey helps to track countries’ progress on a range of measures to make trade more
Public Private Partnerships (PPPs) are needed where governments lack the resources and know-how to provide their citizens with critical services. Such services can be key to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals in areas including health, water and sanitation, education and renewable energy
Quality infrastructure is required for the effective operation of domestic markets, and its international recognition is important to facilitate access to foreign markets. Past estimates by the OECD demonstrate that standards and related conformity assessment have an impact on 80% of the world’s
With its lean institutional set-up and paperless trading environment, Georgia stands among the top trade reformers in the UNECE region. This is the main conclusion of the UNECE Study on regulatory and procedural barriers to trade in the country, presented today in Geneva. Today, it takes 30
Internet of Things (IoT) devices are ushering in a new era of efficiency in global trade using sensors and other connected devices. The United Nations Centre for Trade Facilitation and Electronic Business (UN/CEFACT) has recognized the need to study the use of IoT for trade facilitation and the
International standards and harmonized processes can boost trade by enabling countries and companies to cut costs and reduce bureaucracy. The digitalization of these standards brings additional efficiency gains, further multiplying the benefits of their use. UNECE has taken another step towards
Overfishing and illegal, unreported or unregulated fishing (IUU) accounts for one-fourth of the fish resources in the oceans and cost a staggering USD 23 billion. As a result, future fish stocks are at risk of depletion, ocean biodiversity is impacted and the economic security of legitimate
With the official opening of a modern in vitro laboratory for seed potato cultivation, quality control and virus elimination, at Shushari, near Sankt Petersburg, on 26 January, UNECE finalized a multiyear project financed by the Russian Federation that significantly raised the quality of seed
UNECE member States are progressing on almost all fronts of trade facilitation and paperless trade, a new report shows. The report, based on the Second Global Survey on Trade Facilitation and Paperless Trade 2017, was released on 9 December at a side event co-organized by the UN Regional