We, the Ministers/the Head of delegations of SPECA participating States – Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan, gathered in Geneva on April 17 of 2023 on the margins of the 70th Session of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) for a high-level dialogue with heads of the… Read more
Digital trade, or the application of digital technologies to trade and supply chain processes, is an opportunity to drive efficiency, speed, and resilience for companies, industries and countries that rely on trade for growth. The pace of technological advancement, and the falling cost of computing power and storage, now make… Read more
The international supply chain is growing in complexity at the same time as nation states seek to improve their border compliance for imports and facilitate access to export markets for their domestic producers. The global value chain is highly dependent on smooth cross-border supply flows (tangible, intangible and data). In… Read more
This study seeks to provide the European Central Bank (ECB) with a thorough understanding of the current payment habits of citizens of euro area countries and specifically their attitudes towards digital payment methods. In addition, it aims to explore the user perspective on new digital payment methods and potential key… Read more
The FIT Alliance was formed in February 2022 with five founding members: BIMCO, DCSA, FIATA, ICC and SWIFT. The key objectives of the FIT Alliance are to raise awareness and accelerate adoption of a standards-based electronic bill of lading (eBL)across all sectors of the shipping industry: a universal eBL. A… Read more
In the era of digital transformation, supplier management and procurement came late. But over the past two years, companies have learned how vulnerable global supply chains are to disruption, making the digitisation of supplier management and procurement processes more important again. While cost reduction remains a priority, procurement needs to… Read more
Under the 2021 Italian Presidency, the G20 recognised digital identity as a priority for achieving social and economic inclusion, forming part of its broader commitments to advancing digital government through the work of the G20 Digital Economy Task Force (DETF). As enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, all… Read more
International trade is associated with positive impacts on growth, and acts as a particularly important channel of positive spill-overs for SMEs, including in the area of managerial skills, technology and innovation. Access to trade finance can facilitate SME engagement in international trade by addressing two major challenges. First, both exporters… Read more
Distributed ledger technology (DLT)1 in trade is usually used for two primary purposes: 1) track-and-trace, to enhance transparency on how goods are being processed and 2) the digitalization of trade processes. Track-and-trace itself has three main purposes. First, it can be used to increase transparency for customers and build trust.… Read more
The spread of digital tools, the increased availability of data on both business and financial interactions, and the improvments in data processing capacities are all critical to the expansion of supply chain and distributor finance. Digital integration of traditional retailers/suppliers and distributors/manufacturers is a pathway for addressing working capital challenges… Read more