London — The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) free trade agreement, signed on November 15, will provide a boost for foreign investment into the Least Developed Countries (LDCs) in the region, officials said.
The RCEP deal includes all ten ASEAN countries, along with Australia, China, Japan, New Zealand, and South Korea.The agrement will benefit Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar, among others. Continue reading
Shamel Azmeh, The Conversation
COVID continues to ravage societies around the world, and a key issue is how governments can afford to fight it. As economies are disrupted, governments are stepping in to increase their
The pandemic of Covid-19 has brought many challenges for states of all size and shape, whether economically or politically. The hardest hit is likely to be the least-developed countries like Nepal which already suffer from other handicaps. They lack a long-term strategy to use economic diplomacy successfully to develop the economy of the country. Economic diplomacy is about knowing how to exploit the unique selling points that the country has, maximise the benefits resulting from them and putting in place policies designed to achieve such objectives. The following are some of them:
We are often led to believe that Nepal is a resource poor country, but in reality, it is a country rich in water resources and other resources such medicinal Himalayan herbs and has a huge potential for the development of the tourism and other services sectors. Since the country is endowed with such resources and there is so much potential for the services sector, Nepal is well placed to attract foreign investment to harness its natural resources and develop its services sector since the country has achieved some degree of political stability. Continue reading
Trade will remain the main engine of growth for the global economy but it needs to evolve with respect to emerging technology, business and policy innovation. The export-led growth strategy will yield results only when the surpluses generated from such growth are deployed for public good. This was stated by Dr. Mukhisa Kituyi, Secretary-General, United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD). Continue reading
Gèneve 27 septembre– Des leaders de la société civile de pays en voie de développement ont appelé les pays riches à ouvrir leurs marchés et à offrir des opportunités commerciales équitables aux produits des pays pauvres et en voie de développement. Prenant la parole mardi, à l’occasion d’un programme interactif organisé par l’Observatoire des PMA (OPMA), un réseau des organisations de la société des 47 pays les moins avancés – Demba Moussa Dembele, directeur du Forum africain des alternatives, a dit que des politiques, comme ‘l’Amérique d’abord’, font plus de mal aux pays pauvres et en voie de développement. Continue reading
Geneva, 26 September 2017 — Civil society leaders from Least Developed Countries, the world’s poorest countries, called on rich countries to open up their markets and allow fair and equitable trade opportunities for products from the poor and developing countries. Continue reading
John McArthur and Krista Rasmussen, Brookings Institute, 30 March 2017: Did the United Nation’s millennium development goals (MDGs) make any difference? Perhaps no question is more important for assessing the results of global policy cooperation between 2000 and 2015. We highlight three key findings: At least 21 million extra lives were saved due to accelerated progress; some successes were more important than others; low income countries accelerated more than middle-income countries.
In a statement issued on the eve of the RCEP meeting in Japan (March 3) the PCFS says that any agreement reached will mean the poorest member-countries will suffer.
The PCFS say that RCEP will be a neoliberal trade deal covering 3.5 billion or almost half of the world’s population with a gross domestic product of USD 22.5 trillion, and will strengthen the monopoly control of the biggest agro-corporations within the 10 members of ASEAN, India, South Korea, New Zealand, Australia, Japan and China and even in the world.
The PCFS adds that the move for a Free Trade Agreement is led by China and will benefit the biggest Chinese capitalists more than any of RCEP member-countries. Read the full statement below: Continue reading
19 December 2016: Global poverty is increasingly concentrated among a group of 48 countries, which are falling further behind the rest of the world in terms of economic development, according to a United Nations report released on Tuesday by UNCTAD. The Least Developed Countries Report 2016: The Path to Graduation and Beyond – Making the Most of the Process states that a global goal to halve the size of this group will be missed unless the international community takes more action. Continue reading
25 Oct 2016 Ratnakar Adhikari, (WEF), This past summer, the World Bank officially upgraded Cambodia to a “lower‑middle‑income country”, a move that confirms the country’s upwards economic trajectory over the past 20 years. Continue reading
