Public-Private Dialogue

A website of the OPEN PRIVATE SECTOR platform
Created by the World Bank, moderated by CIPE.

Created by the World Bank, moderated by CIPE

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
  • HOME
  • LESSONS LEARNED
  • COUNTRY CASES
    • Africa
    • Asia
    • Eurasia
    • Latin America & the Caribbean
  • TOOLS
    • PPD Charter
    • PPD Handbook
    • Monitoring and Evaluations
      • The Evaluation Wheel/The Reform Process Table
      • The PPD Reform Tracking Tool
      • Monitoring and Evaluation for Business Environment Reform: A Handbook for Practitioners
      • The PPD Performance Indicators for Donors
    • Operational Resources
      • Manual for Trainers on PPD and Good Governance
      • Quick Guides to Integrating Public-Private Dialogue
      • Key Documents for Setting up PPD Projects
  • WORKSHOP 2015
    • Past Workshops
      • Workshop 2014
      • Workshop 2011
      • Workshop 2010
      • Workshop 2009
      • Workshop 2008
      • Workshop 2007
      • Workshop 2006
  • eLEARNING
  • BLOG
  • ABOUT
    • Contact

Trade Capacity Building and Private Sector Engagement

March 17, 2015 by Center for International Private Enterprise

Originally posted at CIPE Development Blog

Korea_busan_pusan_harbour_cargo_container_terminal

By Kirby Bryan

For sustainable economic growth, developing countries must have the capacity to functionally interact with the global market. Much of the onus for building that capacity rests on a domestic commitment to reforms compatible with global trade. Many emerging markets have lofty aspirations that are unachievable given the current state of affairs, but are determined to rectify the situation. Access to foreign markets can cement reform efforts aimed at improving the local economy and sustaining economic growth.

In late February, the Center for Strategic International Studies (CSIS) released a report from their Congressional Task Force on Trade Capacity Building (TCB) on “Opportunities in Strengthening Trade Assistance.” While the report focuses primarily on US efforts to improve the effectiveness and relevance of its TCB programs, it signals a shift in international engagement and understanding of the role trade plays on the growth of a developing economy.

The shift is also indicative of a growing global development trend toward incorporating the voice of the recipient country from the beginning stages of negotiations through agreement ratification. What is interesting about the current TCB discussions is the recognition by major players in the development world of including the knowledge and expertise of the private sector. Ultimately, it is the private sector in the developing and developed countries that will bear the fruits of economic growth and trade.

Trade capacity is essentially about supplying enough to meet demand. International demand can come from one’s neighbors or a country on the other side of the globe. Building trade capacity is not just about making sure one’s ports are large enough to handle all of the country’s imports and exports and the physical infrastructure for transportation thereof, it is also about the institutional environment within which the private and public sectors operate, and the relationship between the two. Crippling regulatory institutions, disaffected and disenfranchised segments of the population, lack of access to capital, unresponsive, unengaged, and repressive government, and a disjointed private sector can all drastically inhibit a country’s ability to grow – and trade.

Having recognized the importance of the private sector long ago, CIPE has been on the leading edge in building business capacity. Our programs focusing on combating corruption, business association development, and legal and regulatory reform set the stage for top-level reforms to engage the private sector and make public-private interactions more efficient.

Through public-private dialogue (PPD) an organized, engaged private sector can work with the local, state, and national governments to improve the business climate, promote transparency, and create new jobs. In Afghanistan, CIPE continues to work with the Afghanistan Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ACCI) in its attempts to increase its voice in national policymaking processes through the development and marketing of a national business agenda (NBA). Within the NBA, the Chamber voices its desire for tariff policy and trade facilitation reforms.

CIPE, in conjunction with other NGOs – domestic and international – has also been working with the Lebanese private sector to combat administrative corruption as one step in improving industries’ capacities to meet domestic and international demand by lowering the cost of doing business at home.

And in Nigeria, CIPE and local partners host training programs for parliamentarians designed to aid policymakers in making informed decisions about cultivating a business environment that allows the private sector to develop and operate successfully.

CIPE welcomes an international effort to engage the private sector in building trade capacity among the world’s emerging markets and developing countries. Access to markets and the ability to meet the demand generated requires a healthy dialogue between the public and private sectors and an understanding that a thriving economy is in everyone’s best interest.

Kirby Bryan is a Knowledge Management Intern at CIPE.

Tweet

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: afghanistan, economic reform, Global, Lebanon, nigeria, private sector, public-private dialogue, Trade

Upcoming Events

  • 9th PPD Workshop in Tunis, Tunisia May 9-11, 2017

Latest Tweets

  • Loading tweets...

Follow @PPDialogue

In Partnership With

CIPE World Bank Group International Finance Corporation DfID GIZ OECD

About | Legal | Privacy Policy | Terms Of Use

All Rights Reserved © 2016

Copyright © 2023 · Genesis Sample Theme on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in