Publication: Improving Trade and Transport for Landlocked Developing Countries : World Bank Contributions to Implementing the Almaty Programme of Action
Loading...
Date
2013-06
ISSN
Published
2013-06
Author(s)
Editor(s)
Abstract
A ministerial intergovernmental conference in pursuit of these commitments was held in August 2003 in Almaty, Kazakhstan. The conference agreed to the Almaty Programme of Action (APoA), calling for joint efforts by transit and landlocked countries-with substantial technical and financial assistance from other countries-to revise their regulatory frameworks affecting trade movements and to improve their trade-related infrastructure. The two World Bank strategies and the APoA have the same overarching objective: to support the countries targeted by the proposed objectives and actions, in order to achieve inclusive and sustainable development. The report is divided into six sections. Section one provides a comparison of Landlocked Developing Countries (LLDCs) and transit countries in terms of trade performance. It particularly focuses on the growth of total trade and Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per capita in light of trade openness and export diversification. This is followed in section two by an assessment of logistics performance and trade costs of landlocked countries, and their transit and coastal neighbors, on the basis of the Logistics Performance Index (LPI). The operational challenges for traders in LLDCs, including unreliable supply chains and delays, as well the underlying causes, are discussed in section three. Section four then focuses on the various activities of the World Bank to address the key priorities of the Almaty programme, with a focus on regional integration and trade facilitation. In continuation, section five highlights some of the regional integration and trade facilitation projects and initiatives that are being implemented. The report concludes by re-emphasizing the continued validity of several of the original APoA priorities for financial and technical assistance, in the context of the World Bank's overall strategic goals (section six).
Link to Data Set
Citation
“World Bank. 2013. Improving Trade and Transport for Landlocked Developing Countries : World Bank Contributions to Implementing the Almaty Programme of Action. © http://hdl.handle.net/10986/16984 License: CC BY 3.0 IGO.”
Associated URLs
Associated content
Other publications in this report series
Journal
Journal Volume
Journal Issue
Collections
Related items
Showing items related by metadata.
Publication Trade and Transport Facilitation in South Asia : Systems in Transition, Volume 1. Summary and Main Report(Washington, DC, 2008-06-23)Over the past few decades, the World trading system has become increasingly more open. Tariff rates have been reduced and quantitative restrictions (quotas) have been progressively eliminated, e.g. the Multi-Fiber Agreement (MFA). Most countries have adopted more outward-looking economic policies, seeking to increase growth and employment through expanding exports. Such outward looking policies have even been adopted by countries which previously pursued policies based on import substitution as in South Asia. Protective trade restrictions still persist, but tend to be in terms of more subtle non-tariff barriers (such as sanitary or phyto-sanitary standards), though anti-dumping measures and temporary quantity restrictions are still used by many countries to shield domestic producers. Trade regulations no longer solely attempt to protect domestic producers; their scope has extended to cover the need for enhanced security and the desire for greater consumer protection through the traceability of the production chain for many agricultural products. Intense competition compels firms to reduce costs throughout their manufacturing and distribution processes. Outsourcing to lower cost firms and countries has been one major source of cost reduction, reduced inventory costs through just-in-time manufacturing, and distribution systems has been another. Both are predicated on efficient, reliable and low-cost supply chains. With the worldwide fall in tariff levels, the efficiency of supply chains and the associated logistics costs are becoming core determinants of the competitiveness of both firms and countries. They may also influence the destination of inward direct investment; many countries can offer low labor costs and tax incentives, fewer can offer quick, efficient, reliable, and low cost logistics.Publication Improving Trade and Transport for Landlocked Developing Countries(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2014-11)Landlocked developing countries (LLDCs) are completely dependent on their transit neighbors infrastructure and administrative procedures to transport their goods to port. This publication provides a comprehensive ten-year review in order to assess the progress made in improving access of LLDCs to global markets, identify the remaining challenges faced by LLDCs, and present improved and innovative ways to overcome them. This publication is based on the practical knowledge from implementing the Almaty Program policies, shared by both of our institutions. It provides a snapshot of the economic trends in LLDCs, with regard to trade costs, connectivity constraints and trade diversification. It reviews the key access policies in the Almaty Program of Action framework that include infrastructure, transport and logistics services, regional integration, trade and transit facilitation. It combines data and substantial feedback from implemented projects and policy changes. The focus of the document is general in scope and does not include detailed economic or policy analysis of all the potential components of reforms. The publication is organized as follows: Chapter1: Economics of Landlockedness; Chapter 2: Connectivity Constraints; Chapter 3: Hinterland Connections; Chapter 4: Transit and Trade Facilitation, Regional Integration; Chapter 5: Physical Connectivity, Corridors. This document is based primarily on the experience of project implementation by the World Bank, and on analytical work on trade corridors and LLDCs, including reports and presentations on progress in implementing the Almaty Program of Action.Publication Connecting Landlocked Developing Countries to Markets : Trade Corridors in the 21st Century(World Bank, 2011-03-24)The importance of transport corridors for trade and development, including for some of the poorest countries in the world, is widely recognized in this book. A new consensus has also emerged that reducing trade costs and improving access to corridors is not just a matter of building infrastructure. The policies that regulate transport services providers and the movement of goods along corridors are important determinants of the social rate of return on such infrastructure investment. This book avoids optimistic assumptions regarding the prospects for new high-level agreements and decisions to facilitate transit or the possible benefits from increased use of technology. Instead, the authors argue that much can be done through the implementation of readily available existing tools. The use of these tools is often hampered by not only capacity constraints; but, equally if not more important, a lack of commitment. Political economic factors in both the landlocked countries and their transit neighbors must be recognized and addressed. This book offers examples of possible implementation strategies that, while challenging, should in principle help in overcoming these political economic constraints. The main message is that to bring about efficient trade corridors governments and stakeholders should focus on properly implementing the fiscal, regulatory, and procedural principles for international transit that encourage quality-driven logistics services. The various implementation challenges are the primary focus of this book.Publication The Cost of Being Landlocked : Logistics Costs and Supply Chain Reliability(World Bank, 2010)In the last two decades new emphasis has been given to the economic impact of geography, especially on the cost of being landlocked. From a development perspective, understanding the cost of being landlocked and its economic impact is critical, since one country of four in the world is landlocked (almost one out of three in Sub-Saharan Africa). Attempts to address the cost of being landlocked have mainly focused on regional and multilateral conventions aiming at ensuring freedom of transit, and on the development of regional transport infrastructure. The success of these measures has been limited, and many massive investments in infrastructure seem to have had a disappointing impact on landlocked economies. Although there may still be an infrastructure gap, this book, based on extensive data collection in several regions of the world, argues that logistics and trade services efficiency can be more important for landlocked countries than investing massively in infrastructure. Logistics have become increasingly complex and critical for firms' competitiveness, and a weakness in this field can badly hurt firms based in landlocked countries. This book proposes a revised approach to tackling the cost of being landlocked and a new analytical framework which uses a microeconomic approach to assess the trade and macroeconomic impacts of logistics. It takes into account recent findings on the importance of logistics chain uncertainty and inventory control in firms' performance. It argues that: (i) exporters and importers in landlocked developing countries face high logistics costs, which are highly detrimental to their competitiveness in world markets, (ii) high logistics costs depend on low logistics reliability and predictability, and (iii) low logistics reliability and predictability result mostly from rent-seeking and governance issues (prone to proliferate in low volume environments).Publication Cambodia Trade Corridor Performance Assessment(Phnom Penh, 2014-04)The study found that logistics costs are high due to transshipment costs and various forms of payments. Many of these payments are imposed by the private sector with little or no transparency on how or where the costs are incurred. International trade corridors in Cambodia therefore perform well in terms of time but not cost. However, the corridors with transshipment have higher costs than the national corridor between Phnom Penh and Sihanoukville or the river corridor to the port of Cai Mep in Vietnam. Large shippers and international firms prefer to use several sub-contractors to make logistics arrangements so they do not have to coordinate what can be fairly complex and challenging arrangements for shipments. Intermediation in logistics is largely carried out by local agencies, leading to high intermediation costs. The main reason for the high intermediation cost is the prevalence and wide acceptance of facilitation fees as inducements for fast clearance and processing. Facilitation fees, largely informal, contribute to the high costs of logistics. Intermediaries, mostly forwarders and brokers, play a key role in collecting these payments. However, payment of such fees is clouded by lack of transparency. One of the main challenges is how to deal with informal payments in logistics in Cambodia. Another contributor to high costs is private sector capacity in the provision of logistics services, which is still low. Most of the truck fl eet is operated by family-run businesses owning a few trucks. Trucks are generally old which contributes also to the lack of appetite to operate across borders and at the same time compromises the feasibility of developing an effective transit system.
Users also downloaded
Showing related downloaded files
Publication Implementation Know-how Briefs to Support Countries to Prioritize, Connect and Scale for a Digital-in-Health Future(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2023-08-18)Technology and data are integral to daily life. As health systems face increasing demands to deliver new, more, better, and seamless services affordable to all people, data and technology are essential. With the potential and perils of innovations like artificial intelligence the future of health care is expected to be technology-embedded and data-linked. This shift involves expanding the focus from digitization of health data to integrating digital and health as one: Digital-in-Health. The World Bank’s report, Digital-in-Health: Unlocking the Value for Everyone, calls for a new digital-in-health approach where digital technology and data are infused into every aspect of health systems management and health service delivery for better health outcomes. The report proposes ten recommendations across three priority areas for governments to invest in: prioritize, connect and scale. The Implementation Know-How Briefs serve as practical guides for countries as they implement the ten recommendations. Every Implementation Know-How Brief provides practical information to start planning and implementing how to implement the recommendations. It also contains key terminologies for those not familiar with a particular topic, provides key questions to ask, and a general orientation as to typical issues in these sectors. Topics covered are: 1.) Digital health assessments; 2.) Telemedicine and virtual health care; 3.) Private sector involvement in digital health; 4.) Interoperability in health sector; 5.) Data governance for health data; 6.) Cybersecurity for health sector; 7.) Digital health records; 8.) Determining value of digital technology in health; 9.) Certification and regulatory sandboxes for digital technologies in health; 10.) Workflow mapping for digital technology (re)design in health systems.Publication Argentina Country Climate and Development Report(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2022-11)The Argentina Country Climate and Development Report (CCDR) explores opportunities and identifies trade-offs for aligning Argentina’s growth and poverty reduction policies with its commitments on, and its ability to withstand, climate change. It assesses how the country can: reduce its vulnerability to climate shocks through targeted public and private investments and adequation of social protection. The report also shows how Argentina can seize the benefits of a global decarbonization path to sustain a more robust economic growth through further development of Argentina’s potential for renewable energy, energy efficiency actions, the lithium value chain, as well as climate-smart agriculture (and land use) options. Given Argentina’s context, this CCDR focuses on win-win policies and investments, which have large co-benefits or can contribute to raising the country’s growth while helping to adapt the economy, also considering how human capital actions can accompany a just transition.Publication Europe and Central Asia Economic Update, Fall 2024: Better Education for Stronger Growth(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2024-10-17)Economic growth in Europe and Central Asia (ECA) is likely to moderate from 3.5 percent in 2023 to 3.3 percent this year. This is significantly weaker than the 4.1 percent average growth in 2000-19. Growth this year is driven by expansionary fiscal policies and strong private consumption. External demand is less favorable because of weak economic expansion in major trading partners, like the European Union. Growth is likely to slow further in 2025, mostly because of the easing of expansion in the Russian Federation and Turkiye. This Europe and Central Asia Economic Update calls for a major overhaul of education systems across the region, particularly higher education, to unleash the talent needed to reinvigorate growth and boost convergence with high-income countries. Universities in the region suffer from poor management, outdated curricula, and inadequate funding and infrastructure. A mismatch between graduates' skills and the skills employers are seeking leads to wasted potential and contributes to the region's brain drain. Reversing the decline in the quality of education will require prioritizing improvements in teacher training, updated curricula, and investment in educational infrastructure. In higher education, reforms are needed to consolidate university systems, integrate them with research centers, and provide reskilling opportunities for adult workers.Publication World Development Report 2006(Washington, DC, 2005)This year’s Word Development Report (WDR), the twenty-eighth, looks at the role of equity in the development process. It defines equity in terms of two basic principles. The first is equal opportunities: that a person’s chances in life should be determined by his or her talents and efforts, rather than by pre-determined circumstances such as race, gender, social or family background. The second principle is the avoidance of extreme deprivation in outcomes, particularly in health, education and consumption levels. This principle thus includes the objective of poverty reduction. The report’s main message is that, in the long run, the pursuit of equity and the pursuit of economic prosperity are complementary. In addition to detailed chapters exploring these and related issues, the Report contains selected data from the World Development Indicators 2005‹an appendix of economic and social data for over 200 countries. This Report offers practical insights for policymakers, executives, scholars, and all those with an interest in economic development.Publication Classroom Assessment to Support Foundational Literacy(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2025-03-21)This document focuses primarily on how classroom assessment activities can measure students’ literacy skills as they progress along a learning trajectory towards reading fluently and with comprehension by the end of primary school grades. The document addresses considerations regarding the design and implementation of early grade reading classroom assessment, provides examples of assessment activities from a variety of countries and contexts, and discusses the importance of incorporating classroom assessment practices into teacher training and professional development opportunities for teachers. The structure of the document is as follows. The first section presents definitions and addresses basic questions on classroom assessment. Section 2 covers the intersection between assessment and early grade reading by discussing how learning assessment can measure early grade reading skills following the reading learning trajectory. Section 3 compares some of the most common early grade literacy assessment tools with respect to the early grade reading skills and developmental phases. Section 4 of the document addresses teacher training considerations in developing, scoring, and using early grade reading assessment. Additional issues in assessing reading skills in the classroom and using assessment results to improve teaching and learning are reviewed in section 5. Throughout the document, country cases are presented to demonstrate how assessment activities can be implemented in the classroom in different contexts.