CAREC Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) Measures Week: Facilitating Safe and Sustainable Trade in the CAREC Region

As CAREC countries cope and recover from the COVID-19 pandemic, it is important to support their efforts to keep trade open and deepen regional cooperation while mitigating risks to improve economic resilience and achieve sustainable growth. The strategy for CAREC trade embodied in the CAREC Integrated Trade Agenda (CITA) 2030, endorsed at the 17th Ministerial Conference in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan in November 2018, aims to help countries expand trade through increased market access, diversify and strengthen trade institutions. CITA 2030 will support CAREC countries’ post-pandemic recovery through its Rolling Strategic Action Plans (RSAPs), consisting of investment projects, policy dialogues, and knowledge products and services.

The CAREC program is organizing a virtual CAREC SPS Week on 19-22 April 2021. During this week, a series of policy dialogues will discuss emerging issues in agri-food trade including how global and regional cooperation initiatives can help countries respond better to current and future transboundary threats such as the current pandemic. The main objective is to facilitate safe trade by strengthening cooperation and continuing the momentum of CAREC countries in modernizing their SPS measures.

KEY DOCUMENT: CAREC SPS Progress and Workplan 2021-2023 | РУССКИЙ

Day 1, 19 April 2021
High-level Dialogue: Strengthening Cooperation in SPS Measures in the Post-COVID era
14:00 – 16:00, Manila Time
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The dialogue will set the scene to discuss emerging issues in agricultural trade arising from the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic and deliberate on how global and regional cooperation initiatives could help countries respond better with the objective of (i) enhancing market access and facilitating safe trade, (ii) developing agriculture value chains, and (iii) improving sustainability and resilience to transboundary pests and diseases.

Day 2, 20 April 2021
Fergana Valley Stakeholders’ Conference: Enhancing Trade Opportunities through Phytosanitary Measures in Central Asia
14:00 – 16:00, Manila Time
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The Asian Development Bank and U.S. Agency for International Development Competitiveness, Trade and Jobs activity in Central Asia (USAID-CTJ) have been jointly undertaking initiatives to strengthen phytosanitary measures for trade in several CAREC countries. These include trainings on pest risk analysis, pest surveillance, quarantine legislation, phytosanitary risk management and development of plant clinics.

To facilitate safe trade of plants and plant products, the conference will (i) discuss initiatives on horticulture value chain development and cross-order trade in Central Asia along the Fergana Valley; and (ii) deliberate on proposals, including pest surveillance, establishment of pest free areas, pest listing and adoption of ePhyto system. Proposals will be included in the CAREC Integrated Trade Agenda’s Rolling Strategic Action Plan.

Day 3, 21 April 2021
Addressing Transboundary Animal Diseases and Food Safety Issues
14:00 – 16:00, Manila Time
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Development partners from Asian Development Bank, World Organisation for Animal Health, and Food and Agriculture Organization will discuss initiatives and projects to prevent and control transboundary animal diseases, address food safety issues, and strengthen regional cooperation.

Day 4, 22 April 2021
Joint Meeting of the CAREC Customs Cooperation Committee and SPS Regional Working Group: Facilitating Safe Trade – Risk Management and Digitalization
14:00 – 16:00, Manila Time
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The CAREC Customs Cooperation Committee and SPS Regional Working Group will deliberate on risk management and digitalization. The dialogue aims to support inter-agency and cross-border coordination mechanisms to facilitate safe and paperless trade.

27 April 2021
2nd CAREC Regional SPS Working Group Meeting
14:00 – 16:00, Manila Time
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The Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures (SPS) Regional Working Group (RWG) is the policy-making body for the implementation of the Common Agenda for the Modernization of SPS Measures for Trade (CAST). The RWG develops the annual SPS work program based on national plans and the CITA Rolling Strategic Action Plan, and coordinates progress and planned activities with the RTG. Members are the chairpersons of each country’s SPS National Working Groups (NWG), which were officially established by governments to develop 5-year national SPS strategies and 3-year SPS priority action plans. The NWG also serves as a forum for the exchange of information among relevant agencies for the implementation of SPS activities.

Links:

CAREC Integrated Trade Agenda (CITA) 2030|РУССКИЙ

CAREC Common Agenda for Modernization of SPS Measures for Trade | РУССКИЙ

Modernizing Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures in CAREC: An Assessment and the Way Forward | РУССКИЙ

The activity is supported by KSTA 9500-REG: Modernizing Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures to Facilitate Trade, co-funded by the People’s Republic of China Poverty Reduction and Regional Cooperation Fund and Regional Cooperation and Integration Fund.