Lao People's Democratic Republic

<p>This project aims at improving e-commerce competitiveness and creating digital trade opportunities with China for the Micro, Small, and Medium-Sized Enterprises (MSMEs) in South-East Asia countries through platforms including Global Digital Trade Expo (GDTE) and the ITC-Hangzhou Center for Digital Innovation and Sustainable Development. The project partners are Department of Commerce of Zhejiang Province, Bureau of Commerce of Hangzhou City, the People&apos;s Government of Shangcheng District of Hangzhou, and Xizi Group. Project beneficiaries are MSMEs in South East Asia countries and China.</p>

<p>The SCOPE-Trade project aims at addressing three important trade-related pillars which drive economic connectivity in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and between ASEAN and the European Union (EU) i.e., trade policy environment, digital connectivity for businesses with a focus on micro, small and medium sized enterprises (MSMEs), sustainable and resilient value chains. The project will be implemented with the ASEAN Secretariat as well as ASEAN Sectoral Bodies and Working Groups. It is part of and addresses the trade and economic priorities of the EU-ASEAN Sustainable Connectivity Package (acronym SCOPE), which seeks to improve sustainable connectivity between the EU and ASEAN, and within ASEAN.&nbsp;</p>

<p>The United Kingdom Trade Partnerships (UKTP) Programme aims to increase trade from developing countries to the United Kingdom (UK) and the European Union (EU) by maximizing the benefits of UK and EU Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs) and the UK&apos;s Developing Countries Trading Scheme (DCTS). The UKTP Programme works in partnership with government agencies, private sector organisations, public sector institutions, small and medium-sized enterprises and other local stakeholders.&nbsp;</p><p>The UKTP Programme is funded by the Foreign, Commonwealth &amp; Development Office (FCDO) of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland under the UK&apos;s Trade Centre of Expertise. EPA and DCTS countries participating in the UKTP Programme will have access to high quality trade-related technical assistance through sector initiatives. Target beneficiaries will be export-ready SMEs that are committed to securing new trade opportunities with the UK. This project will aim to promote exports through facilitating access to markets, providing advisory services to SMEs to improve their products and business operations, and strengthening business support organizations.&nbsp;</p><p>This project builds upon the lessons learnt and achievements of the UKTP programme since 2019. Previous engagement with SMEs in multiple EPA countries has shown the benefit of selecting export-ready companies with compelling products for UK customers and consumers to participate and of preparing them specifically with UK market entry services to succeed in the UK market.&nbsp;</p><p>This project complements and works in synergy with UKTP in the Pacific. &nbsp; &nbsp;</p>

<p>This project aims at creating a platform serving as knowledge repository for stakeholders interested in certain trade-related topics imminent to the ASEAN region, based on resources developed under ITC-implemented TRTA projects in Southeast Asia. It is set to achieve scale in knowledge sharing and capacity building by reaching an audience beyond the direct project beneficiaries. The platform is created with the intention to stay for good, which will grant accessibility of resources even after the end of a project, and will therefore also become an integral part of the exit and sustainability strategy of ITC&apos;s projects in Southeast Asia. The platform will allow for a continuous inflow of resources provided by all ITC teams, and will complement ITC&rsquo;s global public goods offerings by providing long-term access to otherwise not (easily) accessible comprehensive regional resources relevant to project stakeholders, and other interested users in the region.</p>

<p>The major objective of the project is to contribute to inclusive and sustainable economic growth, mitigation of vulnerability (especially for female) and job creation in Lao PDR through enhancing<span>&nbsp;</span><span lang="EN-GB">Lao MSMEs export competitiveness in China</span>. The project will last for two years and provide capacity building and business matchmaking opportunities to MSMEs in Lao PDR. ITC will work with its partners in China and Lao PDR to implement the project and focus on the bottleneck problems analysis and trade promotion activities.</p>