Bhutan

EIF and Trade Facilitation Workshop

Statement by Mr. Bakhodir Burkhanov,
Resident Representative a.i., UNDP Bhutan
at the Opening Session of the EIF and Trade Facilitation Workshop
Paro

Dasho Sonam Tshering, Secretary, Ministry of Economic Affairs
Dophu Tshering, Officiating Director, Department of Trade
Distinguished participants and resource persons from UNCTAD, ITC, UNIDO, WTO and UNDP
Ladies and Gentlemen:

It is my pleasure to be here with you today at the opening of the Enhanced Integrated Framework and Trade Facilitation Workshop for Bhutan. At the outset, let me add my welcome to all the participants, particularly colleagues who have travelled to be with us from Geneva, Vienna, Colombo and New Delhi. The presence of this impressive group of national and international participants underscores the importance of this workshop.

This workshop provides an opportunity for Bhutan to examine trade promotion as an engine of economic growth and, more broadly, of human development. Trade’s linkages to poverty reduction are now a mainstream development notion, which this workshop will review and contextualize for Bhutan’s circumstances. This discussion is especially timely given that we in Bhutan are now moving into the implementation of the 10th Five-Year Plan that is aligned to the Millennium Development Goals. The Plan establishes poverty reduction as its main objective with massive social sector and capital investments foreseen.

In global terms, multilateral trading mechanisms have helped developing countries tremendously to lift people out of poverty and boost their living standards. The countries that have done well in their poverty reduction efforts in the past few decades – such as Republic of Korea, Thailand, Malaysia and China – have at least one thing in common: they have all adopted policies that are conducive to trade and investment. Many more developing countries have since re-evaluated the importance of trade as a critical generator of growth.

I am very happy to address this meeting as we begin looking at ways of accessing capacity building and other support mechanisms provided by the UN system. The United Nations agencies have gone a long way in aligning their distinct mandates and drawing on each others’ strengths to consolidate their support for this important area. Launch of the Inter-Agency Cluster on Trade and Productive Capacity is an illustration of this partnership. It is precisely in the same spirit that the Royal Government and the UN system in Bhutan have agreed to pursue increased coherence and synergies of all UN activities at the country level following the “Delivering as One” approach.

Distinguished colleagues:

The Enhanced Integrated Framework (EIF) mechanism, which will be discussed in detail in this workshop, is seen as an inter-agency cooperation vehicle aimed at supporting the Least Developed Countries (LDCs) to better incorporate trade into their development strategies, and to more effectively integrate into global trade relations in a beneficial manner.

Any discussion on international trade these days could not possibly ignore the economic downturn that the world is facing. The crisis is deepening and it’s hard to predict how much longer it will last. We know however that as it gets deeper, it will cause the poor around the world more and more hardship. As a result of slumping global demand and a credit crunch- induced lack of trade finance, volume of global trade is bound to decline. Much more than ever, the situation calls for a concerted effort of all actors, including the governments of developing and developed countries alike, the UN family and the World Bank, to design and implement an effective response and to advance policy frameworks to reduce the impact of future crises.

Although the global turmoil has not had a direct significant impact on the Bhutanese economy, the shocks being faced by Bhutan’s major trading partners in South Asia following the crisis will affect Bhutan too. It is therefore imperative to have a robust trade framework in place that responds to Bhutan’s unique challenges of a landlocked LDC that is embarking upon a new five- year development plan with an ambitious set of poverty reduction goals.

Before I conclude, let me take this opportunity to thank the Hon’ble Secretary of the Ministry of Economic Affairs and the Department of Trade for their leadership and support in organizing this workshop.

I would also like to convey my appreciation to colleagues from the EIF Secretariat, UNCTAD, ITC, UNIDO, UNDP Geneva and UNDP Regional Centre in Colombo for their substantive support. I hope that their distinct expertise can help deliver greater development dividends to Bhutan in a complex multilateral trading system. From our side, UNDP and the entire UN system in Bhutan are committed to supporting the Government-led development efforts through policy work and targeted programmes in support of national priorities.

I wish you fruitful deliberations and a pleasant stay in Bhutan.

Thank you and Tashi Delek!