The Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) is the most inclusive intergovernmental platform in the Asia-Pacific region. The Commission promotes cooperation among its 53 member States and 9 associate members in pursuit of solutions to sustainable development challenges. ESCAP is one of the five regional commissions of the United Nations.
The ESCAP secretariat supports inclusive, resilient and sustainable development in the region by generating action-oriented knowledge, and by providing technical assistance and capacity-building services in support of national development objectives, regional agreements and the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. ESCAP also provides support to partners at the national level. ESCAP’s national offer is rooted in and linked with the implementation of global and regional intergovernmental frameworks, agreements, and other instruments.
ESCAP pursues this objective by carrying out work, in close cooperation with other United Nations entities and intergovernmental organizations in the region, in the following areas:
- Macroeconomic Policy and Financing for Development
- Trade, Investment and Innovation
- Transport
- Environment and Development
- ICT and Disaster Risk Reduction
- Social Development
- Statistics
- Energy
EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW
- How does ESCAP’s work and activities specifically touch upon e-commerce and the digital economy?
ESCAP assists countries, particularly the least developed and landlocked developing countries (LDCs and LLDCs), with trade facilitation measures that help simplify processes and regulations and make participation in trade more inclusive and sustainable for all.
ESCAP provides the secretariat for the Framework Agreement on Facilitation of Cross-Border Paperless Trade in Asia and the Pacific (CPTA), a UN treaty dedicated to accelerating trade digitalization across the region through capacity building, pilot testing, harmonization, and mutual recognition of paperless trade systems.
The United Nations Network of Experts for Paperless Trade and Transport in Asia and the Pacific (UNNExT) is a community of knowledge and practice for experts from developing countries and transition economies from Asia and the Pacific involved in the implementation of electronic trade systems and trade facilitation. The Secretariat of UNNExT is provided by ESCAP, in cooperation with UNECE. UNNExT aims to support national, sub-regional and transcontinental Single Window and paperless trade initiatives.
The United Nations is urging governments to accelerate efforts to make trade systems more inclusive and sustainable, highlighting limited support for vulnerable groups including small and medium-sized enterprises, women traders and the agricultural sector despite steady progress in broader trade facilitation.
