United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)
UNDP takes the view that international trade can play an important role in raising levels of human
development and achieving sustainable poverty reduction. From this perspective, trade is a means to an
end, not an end in itself. Properly harnessed, international trade can create opportunities for growth,
poverty reduction and human development through for example:
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Expanding markets: exports allow an economy to overcome the constraints of its domestic
market;
Raising productivity: increased returns to scale in production resulting from access to
international markets; and
Accelerated technological development: from increased exposure to new technologies and
knowledge.
However, none of this is automatic or inevitable. Appropriate policies are also required across several
fronts and sectors. UNDP’s trade-related support has three main objectives:
(i) To help developing countries build capacity to compete internationally by overcoming supply
side constraints;
(ii) To help developing countries build capacity to negotiate, interpret and implement trade
agreements (multilateral, regional and bilateral) in a manner that prioritizes poverty reduction and human
development; and
(iii) To help developing countries incorporate pro-poor, development-centered trade policies into
national development strategies, including poverty reduction programmes.
UNDP also maintains an extensive private sector portfolio, which seeks to foster inclusive markets, and
consists of two broad type of interventions: private sector development aimed at increasing the
contribution of micro-, small and medium sized enterprises to economic growth and poverty reduction;
and private sector engagement.
At the regional level:
BOMCA
The Border Management Programme in Central Asia is one of the largest EU-UNDP assistance
programmes in Central Asia. BOMCA’s focus is capacity development for Integrated Border
Management (IBM) through trainings and exposure to European best practices for all agencies involved
in border management. Additional components of the programme include the provision of infrastructure
and equipment to leverage what is accomplished through specialized training and to facilitate more
professional and efficient security, law enforcement and trade operations at selected border crossing
points (BCPs) on trade corridors, and enhanced security and improvement of working conditions at
selected border outposts (BOs) on the Tajik-Afghan border.
Major BOMCA projects and activities across the region in 2010-2011:
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Institutional Development in Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan
Strengthening Training Capacities in Central Asia
Strengthening Infrastructure Capacities Along Trade and Transit Corridors in Central Asia
Assisting Tajikistan in Securing the Tajik-Afghan Border in Gorno-Badakhsan Oblast
Strengthening Counter-Drug Capacities at Borders in Central Asia
Wider Europe initiative
The ‘Wider Europe: Aid for Trade for Central Asia, South Caucasus and Western CIS’ project supports
countries in the region to benefit from increasing resources available from Aid for Trade (AfT) and to
harvest the benefits of trade for human development. The project works both regionally and individually
with eleven countries in the Western CIS region (Belarus, Moldova and Ukraine), in South Caucasus
(Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia), as well as in Central Asia (Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan,
Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan).
Lack of information, knowledge and access constrains farmers and small and medium sized enterprises
(SMEs) in this region in identifying the potential market opportunities and potential and existing value
chains. The project targets these constraints and endeavours to bridge unmet needs of entrepreneurs and
enhance private sector’s trade capacity, specifically targeting SMEs, farmers and farmers’ cooperatives.
The project develops the capacities of SMEs and farmers along the entire line of the business process –
from business processes (planning, management, and finance), access to financial services (micro
finance), over processing, standards, branding and market access (knowledge, access and productive
capacities).
GIM
The Growing Inclusive Markets initiative (GIM) is a platform to facilitate the engagement of all actors for
more inclusive markets so the pursuits of profit and human progress can work to mutual advantage.
Inclusive markets include the poor on the demand side as clients and customers, and/or on the supply side
as employees, producers and business owners. The benefits go beyond immediate profits and higher
incomes. For businesses, they include driving innovations, building markets and strengthening supply
chains. For the poor they include higher productivity, sustainable earnings and greater empowerment.
A regional GIM initiative was launched in Eastern Europe and the Community of Independent States
(CIS) to respond to specific regional challenges. Its main objective is to catalyze more inclusive markets
in the region, through advocating for the development of inclusive business models and an appropriate
enabling environment for those to strive.
The project positions inclusive investment brokers in each project country (currently in Bosnia and
Herzegovina, Kazakhstan, Kosovo and Uzbekistan), facilitating inclusive business models, demonstrating
along the way the potential of growing inclusive markets, and spurring additional action by all relevant
stakeholders to improve the enabling environment for making markets work better for the poor. The GIM
offers services ranging from business and trade linkages, public-private dialogues to partnership
brokerage and facilitation of business models.
In addition, most UNDP offices in the region also maintain area based development programmes that
target business development for local and regional trade. In addition, UNDP country offices provide
support in trade development matters upon the request of governments. In Uzbekistan, for example,
UNDP supports the government to enhance export diversification, export levels and FDIs.