Multi-Year Expert Meeting on Transport, Trade Logistics and Trade Facilitation, tenth session

Coordination and digitalization as a means to accelerated and climate-smart trade facilitation

Trade facilitation reforms have been advancing considerably in recent years, in particular with the entry into force of the Agreement on Trade Facilitation of the World Trade Organization in 2017 and the inclusion of dedicated trade facilitation provisions in many regional trade agreements.

The implementation of trade facilitation reforms is challenging, as evidenced by experiences in implementing the Agreement on Trade Facilitation. In particular, developing countries and vulnerable economies, such as the least developed countries, landlocked developing countries and small island developing States, are required to address many trade facilitation implementation issues at the same time, and often embark on trade facilitation reforms from a less advanced starting point, thus facing the need for knowledge acquisition and the need to make policy and implementation decisions, as well as funding requirements related to all issues, in a relatively short time frame.

The tenth session of the Multi-year Expert Meeting on Transport, Trade Logistics and Trade Facilitation provides an opportunity to reflect on the key issues at stake, review good practices, provide recommendations on the best way forward, identify priority action areas, in particular for the most vulnerable group of countries, among these the least developed countries, landlocked developing countries and small island developing States, and define the role of relevant stakeholders, including from government, industry, the public and private sectors, development partners and financial institutions.

Participation and registration

Member States of UNCTAD are requested to nominate experts in the relevant fields by 30 June 2023.

Experts, who will participate in the meeting in their personal capacities, are expected to have proven expertise in the subject areas and may be selected from governmental and non-governmental organizations, the private sector or academia.

Specialized agencies and intergovernmental bodies that wish to participate in the meeting, as well as non-governmental organizations in the general category and those in the special category that wish to participate as observers, are requested to register by the same date.

The meeting will be in a hybrid format (in-person and online participation) and online registration is mandatory for all participants.

Contributed papers

Experts are encouraged to prepare and submit brief papers (maximum 10 pages) related to their studies, findings or national experiences.

These papers will be made available at the meeting in the form and language in which they are received. Papers should be submitted by 30 June 2023 to the contacts provided below.