Industry 4.0 and the challenges of sustainable urban development will be in focus at the 25th session of the UN Commission on Science and Technology for Development.
Written by: Arántzazu Sánchez Belastegui and Lazar Ristic, Article No. 87 [UNCTAD Transport and Trade Facilitation Newsletter N°93 - First Quarter 2022]
As the COVID-19 pandemic evolves, new challenges and variants of concern like Omicron threaten to worsen the plight of the world’s seafarers, who play a vital role in global trade.
UNCTAD’s Empretec entrepreneurship programme has helped him formalize and grow his businesses, contributing to sustainable development in the country’s northern provinces.
UNCTAD brings together stakeholders to examine how measures to facilitate cross-border trade can contribute to a strong and inclusive recovery from the pandemic.
New UNCTAD estimates show that infrastructure finance is up due to recovery stimulus packages, but greenfield investment activity remains weak across industrial sectors.
A new free trade agreement, covering a third of the world economy, will eliminate 90% of tariffs among 15 East Asian and Pacific countries and is expected to boost intraregional exports by $42 billion.
The collective mark will help consumers select fishery and seafood products produced with sustainable and responsible practices that foster community development.
Slow progress in digitalization and paperless transactions, lack of transparency in regulatory procedures and weaknesses in long-term planning are among the issues holding back port performance in the region.
UNCTAD warns that global consumer prices will rise significantly in the year ahead until shipping supply chain disruptions are unblocked and port constraints and terminal inefficiencies are tackled.
