The workshop, taking place between 6 and 10 June 2016 in Bangkok, forms part of the ARTNeT-AFD project on examining barriers to ASEAN integration on CLMV countries. The workshop is bringing together selected research teams from Cambodia, Lao People's Democratic Republic, Myanmar and Viet Nam alongside other participants and resource persons from UNCTAD and ERIA, partner institutes of ARTNeT. Topics included regional integration, non-tariff barriers, geographical indications and mutual recognition agreements.

Presentations of the workshop can be accessed here; a full set will be available by the conclusion of the workshop on June 10th.

A warm welcome to the Center for Global Environmental Policy (CGEP), Beijing Normal University which became the 63rd institutional member of ARTNeT. The CGEP, established in 2005, devotes itself to solving global environmental issues such as climate change, the impact of international trade on the environment and biodiversity conservation. The first activity of CGEP marking its engagement as an ARTNeT member will be a conference on promoting green trade in Asia, coorganised with WWF, SEI and others. Further details will be provided by ARTNeT shortly. The ARTNeT focal point will be Dr. Mao Xianqiang, Director of the CGEP. Further information is available here.

Want to join ARTNeT? Please consult the ARTNeT Membership Guidelines.

This training on “Government Procurement Negotiations” was co-organized by ESCAP and the International Institute for Trade and Development (ITD), Thailand. The training offered an opportunity for personnel in Thailand and regional low-income economies to share experiences, techniques and best practices with respect to trade negotiations. Sessions covered topics including WTO agreements, treatment of government procurement in FTAs, Thailand's green public procurement, and mitigating corruption risks in procurement. The presentations can be accessed here. 

ARTNeT in collaboration with the Research and Information System for Developing Countries (RIS) and the Centre for Economic and Social Development (CESD), Yangon organized two workshops in the week from 9 to 13 May in Yangon, Myanmar. One, from 9-11 May focused on “Regional Cooperation and Integration” this was followed up by the workshop on "Trade facilitation: Global Agenda and Regional Priorities" on 12 and 13 May.

The discussion in the two workshops indicated a strong need for a publications bringing together the most recent analysis of issues faced by Myanmar on its way to reintegration into regional and global economy. A publication to meet these needs is now being prepared by the organisers of the workshops. Relevant new or recently released applied analytical papers, not longer than 20 pages or 5000 words, could be sent to artnetontrade@un.org with a subject line: "For Myanmar publication" by 20 June 2016.

This report, which served as the theme study for the 2016 ESCAP Commission session, highlights that the Asia-Pacific region is home to some of the most innovative countries in the world, as well as to some of the most technologically deprived. The report shows that some countries in the region lead the world in innovative business environments, socially inclusive government initiatives, and complex scientific research. A number of countries also rank among the best in terms of research spending as a share of GDP, with the region accounting for almost 43 per cent of global research and development expenditure. In 2013 alone, Asian developing countries spent more than $650 billion on research and development. However, the report also points out that these impressive gains have been confined to a relatively small number of countries. For example, 95 percent of the region’s researchers are located in just five countries.

Despite consensus on the transformative potential of science, technology and innovation (STI), there remains a lack of clarity on how Least Developed Countries (LDCs) can effectively implement it for inclusive and sustainable development. This publication highlights four key innovation policy options which have the potential to enable LDCs to reap the benefits of innovation in a cost-effective manner. First, LDCs must mobilize all available talent towards sustainable development if the ambitions of the 2030 Agenda are to be met. Second, the rule of law and STI are inextricably linked. An enabling environment that encourages and protects risk-taking, and a secure investment climate are vital components of an innovation system. Third, it will be critical to incentivize investment from sources such as foreign direct investment (FDI) and impact investment and align all available sources of STI finance towards sustainable development. Fourth, creating open and inclusive innovative knowledge economies will be critical. Enabling international mobility, international technology transfer and participating in the regional and global innovation agendas will support national innovation capacity development.

ARTNeT is very pleased to introduce the newletters from our partners and members: Agence Française de Développement (AFD), Korea Institute for International Economic Policy (KIEP) and South Asian Network of Economic Modelers (SANEM).

The AFD's newsletter covers all the latest studies and research published at AFD, highlights from the blog, Ideas for Development, as well as information about our upcoming conferences and expert workshops.

The newsletter from KIEP will be informing the current publication, KIEP opinions, announcements and upcoming events.

Thinking Aloud, SANEM's newsletter provides analysis and insights on selective theme on economic modelling monthly.

Air connectivity is an important mode of transportation to carry tourist and business travellers, high-value fragile goods and perishable products from one place to another in the shortest time. It also provides significant social benefits by facilitating communication between different parts of the world and by providing greater access to remote areas. This report from RIS,  addresses various issues and challenges concerning air connectivity between India and ASEAN, especially relating to air cargo, that would help to unlock the economic potential of the region by removing constraints and bottlenecks to growth. This report also provides a set of recommendations to strengthen air connectivity between India and ASEAN, and to enhance economic integration between them.

Improvements in the land route between India and Pakistan can help lower transaction costs which can play in important role in realizing the trade potential between the two countries. Connecting India and Pakistan by the land route offers gains not only to the two countries but would spread benefits over a wider geography covering several countries. With the vision of connecting India and Pakistan to Central Asia and East Asia, this paper from ICRIER makes an attempt to examine trade between India and Pakistan by different modes of transport, identify physical and non-physical impediments to transporting goods by rail and road while taking into account the implications of trade policy for transporting goods; suggests measures to address these constraints which are also in compliance with the provisions in the recently signed WTO Agreement on Trade Facilitation. The paper also suggests how acceding to international conventions will make it easier for the two countries to connect with the rest of the world.

This paper from PIDS examines the evidence on service innovation using the 2012 Census of Philippine Business and Industry and the 2009 Pilot Survey of Innovation Activities. It reveals the wide variation in R&D intensities and differences in innovation behavior between the manufacturing and services sectors, for example with respect to information sources and innovation activities. Many similarities were also detected in terms of service product innovation, the popularity of organizational innovation, and the preference for training activities, among others. Looking at structural factors, the probit regression analyses indicate that the size of the firm is a good determinant for all types of innovation. Ownership and age were also significant for certain innovation outputs, which could help inform policies on FDI and entrepreneurship. The results of this paper reveal the importance of service innovation not only for the services sector but for the manufacturing sector as well consistent with servicification. In general, different types of innovation are undertaken by industries for various reasons and the technological and non-technological forms of innovation complement each other. If the government aims to promote economy-wide upgrading, support for innovation should not favor only one type of innovation output or activity. Further research on innovation behavior to cover more industries will be useful in developing a comprehensive and more nuanced approach to innovation policy.

The paper from ISEAS demonstrates how connectivity plays an vital role in ASEAN's future. It notes how regional integration has witnessed an evolution in focus from mere trade liberalisation to Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreements (CEPAs) and lately to connectivity. This goes beyond ASEAN’s own regional integration plans, and is importantly noted in initiatives recently taken by China, Japan and the US. While tariff elimination has been achieved and many AEC issues have come to be recognized as necessarily long-term work-in-progress processes, better connectivity has become the next phase of regional integration. Developments in ASEAN in this direction are now accompanied by China’s ‘One Belt, One Road’ (OBOR) and the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB). 

India continues to be labeled ‘obstructive’ in its ongoing trade negotiations, for example in the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, for refusing to eliminate tariffs in agriculture, dairy and automobiles and insisting on easier access for its professionals in partner country markets. This paper from ISAS highlights the futility of this approach and the risk of India’s isolation from the trade rule-making process. It urges flexibility in India’s negotiating posture including bilateral discussions with key negotiating partners for resolving differences.

Foreign Trade University, Hanoi is calling for submissions of papers to their journal, External Economics Review. The journal, which is issued monthly in the Vietnamese language, also puts out a quarterly volume of papers in English. The email for the editorial office is: tapchi@ftu.edu.vn.

This programme aims to train professionals capable of understanding, analyzing and applying the tools of contemporary trade policy in the global economic environment. Courses will be delivered in English and Russian by a team of professionals in the sphere of international trade, trade policy and global economic regulation. The two-year programme also provides opportunities to study abroad at either UNCTAD Virtual Institute think-tank member, the Kiel Institute for the World Economy (Germany) or core Swiss member, the World Trade Institute.

Applications will be accepted July 1 to August 19. Scholarships may be available, subject to funding. For more information, contact osavelyev@hse.ru.

Adam Heal, Associate ARTNeT Co-ordinator, is leaving Trade, Investment and Innovation Division of ESCAP to take up a position with the United Nations Department of Political Affairs in New York. He will still be working on Southeast Asian issues and looks forward to staying in touch with ARTNeT colleagues in the region. 

Teemu Alexander Puutio, Assistant ARTNeT Coordinator, is leaving Trade, Investment and Innovation Division of ESCAP to take up a position with the United Nations Department of Management in New York. He will continue to work on IPR issues which have been at the core of his work for ARTNeT. 

We wish them both success in their new positions. 

The ARTNeT Secretariat welcomes submissions of policy briefs, working papers, book reports, research reports, and book reviews by ARTNeT members, partners and collaborators. For any submission to be considered, the editorial 'Guidelines for Submissions to the ARTNeT Working Papers Series' must be adhered to.

If you are an ARTNeT member, partner or collaborator and would like to publicise your publications, research or events in the next newsletter, please e-mail us at artnetontrade@un.org.