Asia Pacific regional cooperation - it's more than jargon

UNESCAP's work in developing the Framework Agreement on Paperless Trade is one practical initiative that can not only make the business of trade more transparent and accessible but also make trade easier across the region. Yet few governments have ratified the agreement to date.

One of the reasons is the lack of capacity to implement paperless trade in some less developed locations. To ensure the benefits are spread across the region, we must adequately support those member countries with fewer resources to build capacity and implement the technological capabilities for paperless trade.

Once the technological capabilities are in place, it holds great promise for much easier paperless exchange and mutual recognition of trade data and documents online, speeding up the work of regulators to help businesses get on with the business of trading.

One of the biggest obstacles slowing and sometimes hindering trade can be navigating the different documents required. Certainly our small exporters from the Pacific Islands often find dealing with the bureaucracy of China makes it all too difficult to explore an export market that should hold great promise.

In the implementation of paperless trade we can build what is referred to by experts as "interoperability" across the region. I first heard the term interoperability at a UN peacekeeping conference in Ottawa in the early 1990s, when military contingents from different nations were looking at how they could better collaborate to keep the peace in complex and rapidly changing security situations in conflict zones. Trade regulators are not comparable to peacekeepers but of course utilising similar systems will similarly allow us to better understand each other and provide a platform for more cooperation in future.

Paperless trade will not only be more efficient, but it will also be more transparent and better guarantees compliance with the law.

It is a good example of where it makes good sense for us to think regionally and in which building a harmonised approach should benefit all countries of the region, thus reducing the confusion and diversity of bilateral arrangements.

Paperless trade creates the opportunity to build a system of documentation that facilitates rather than hinders trade. A similar approach to investment facilitation would go a long way to encouraging investors to create jobs across the region, which is otherwise daunting with its diversity of policies, procedures and implementation.

There are other non-tariff barriers to economic cooperation that, if reduced, can make a real difference across the region, including the small, distant, developing nations of the Pacific Islands.

Increased access to labour mobility is a good example, through which workers can access job opportunities and fill skills gaps in receiving countries, assisting their home communities with remittances.

But, for the small island states of the Pacific, reducing the regulatory barriers can only go so far. There remain practical barriers to international trade created by distance from major markets. The biggest thing we could change to further integrate the Pacific Islands with the major markets of the region would be to invest in better connectivity.

Luckily there is a new focus and capability in the Asia Pacific region to build greater connectivity and related infrastructure, for transport, energy and communications.

In line with their strong economic performance, major Asian economies are taking a greater leadership role in global economic governance and that includes financing for development. New financial institutions such as the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank and China's Silk Road Fund are dedicated to supporting development projects that will build regional supply chain connectivity to reduce the distance and cost of economic cooperation.

It is going to require regional thinking to make the most of these opportunities. We will need to think about hubs and spokes, the best nodes for logistics chains and for transport by sea and air. The growth of the Asia Pacific can provide the platform for even the most remote members of the region to benefit if we focus on their practical needs and the benefits to all of economic integration.

In working for sustainable economic development we in the Pacific should more seriously think, plan and cooperate as a region and not just a collection of states. The rise of Asia is a global and regional story of integration into the global economy as much as it is about national development and the Pacific region too can benefit together from greater economic integration with Asia and the world. We need to ensure no nation is left behind.