10th CAREC Trade Policy Coordinating Committee Meeting

The 10th Trade Policy Coordinating Committee (TPCC) meeting discussed implementation of the Trade Policy Strategic Action Plan (TPSAP) and papers on trade through channels involving bazaars, and on broad cross-border cooperation. Committee members also reviewed the TPCC work program.

The first paper discussed, Trade through Channels Involving Bazaars, examines the role of bazaars in Central Asia in promoting trade and raising the economic welfare of the population. The paper found that bazaars

• are large business associations with infrastructure facilitating both domestic and international trade;
• play a major role in regional and national chains of production and distribution, and make a large contribution toward fostering economic ties among CAREC countries;
• contribute to lower costs of trade and prices of goods, higher trade volumes, and improved welfare;
• contribute to poverty alleviation; and
• are a source of very significant positive externalities, such as creating opportunities to develop logistic and marketing skills.

The paper concluded that governments should foster the development of bazaars in view of their growth, employment generation, and poverty fighting characteristics. The paper was prepared by the World Bank.

The second paper, Deepening Integration in Border Regions within CAREC: The Asia Region, found strong demand at the local level in Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic, and Tajikistan for deeper cooperation, but significant differences in policy approaches to economic development and foreign trade among countries — notwithstanding cultural and ethnic affinities, common historical background and existing functional interdependencies among them. Based on the experience with the Euroregios, the paper noted the importance of broadening cross-border arrangements beyond trade. The paper was prepared by the World Bank.