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UNCTAD PROGRAMME OF TECHNICAL COOPERATION ACTIVITIES IN SUPPORT OF PALESTINIAN TRADE, FINANCE AND RELATED
SERVICES
UNCTAD
technical assistance to the Palestinian people is guided by
the secretariat's Programme
of Technical Cooperation Activities in Support of Palestinian
Trade, Finance and Related Services,
first elaborated in 1995 and updated periodically. The
programme used the findings of a comprehensive
intersectoral research project on prospects for the sustained
development of the Palestinian economy as a framework within
which a series of projects were conceived. The
2001–2002 Programme responds to the capacity and
institution-building needs of the Palestinian economy within
four programmes clusters:
The
programme, conceived in close consultation with Palestine, was
endorsed by the Palestinian Authority (PA) in 1995, leading to
a steady intensification and reorientation of the
secretariat's work on the Palestinian economy. Requests from
PA counterparts to extend technical assistance in the priority
areas of trade, finance and related services have built
UNCTAD's technical assistance into a multifaceted and
integrated programme drawing on the expertise of the
secretariat as a whole.
In each of
the four programmes areas, advisory services, group training
and other modalities of technical assistance are deployed with
the overall aims of:
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Bolstering PA policy-making, managerial and institutional
capacities to enhance the performance of the trade, public
finance and related services sectors;
-
Contributing to the creation of an appropriate enabling
environment to mobilize the development potentials of the
Palestinian private sector.
The
programme has to date generated 20 projects that are
research-based, linking the findings of UNCTAD's analytical
and empirical investigation in each area to specific technical
assistance needs identified by the PA. By 2001, UNCTAD's
proposed activities amounted to US$ 3.13 million, with around
US$ 2 million of required funding secured from the
contributions already provided or pledged by donor countries
and UN agencies, including Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, the
United Kingdom, UNCTAD, the United Nations Development
Programme (UNDP), the United Nations Institute for Training
and Research (UNITAR), and most recently, the World Bank’s
Technical Assistance Trust Fund (TATF), administered by the
Palestinian Economic Council for Reconstruction and
Development (PECDAR).
Trade
Policies and Strategies
As
the PA strives to integrate the Palestinian economy with
regional and global markets, it is actively seeking to ensure
the compatibility of its forthcoming laws, development
policies and trade agreements with the multilateral trading
system’s rules and regulations. However, the PA's limited
experience in the area of trade policy means that it is not
well placed to take on the challenges arising from the rapidly
changing international trade environment.
Objective
To
strengthen the PA's institutional capacity in trade policy
analysis and negotiations.
Projects
Trade
Facilitation and Logistics
A range of physical, procedural and institutional weaknesses
continue to undermine prospects for realizing the full
potential of the numerous trade agreements signed between the
PA and the rest of the world. These include cumbersome customs
and overland procedures, poor physical infrastructures and
competency shortfalls. At the same time, the growing impact of
globalization, fostered by the continuous advances in
information technology and telecommunications, is providing
new impetus for enhancing trade efficiency, requiring
practical measures to reduce trade transaction costs,
accelerate trade-related measures and procedures and ensure
transparency.
Objective
To
streamline and modernize trade-related procedures in
accordance with international standards, while ensuring the
protection of public revenues through built-in mechanisms for
controlling fiscal leakage and reducing the cost of external
trade transactions.
Projects
Finance
and Development
While
the management of PA finances has improved in recent years,
domestic and external financial challenges facing the emerging
Palestinian economy have become greater. The PA continues to
be highly dependent on official development assistance (ODA)
to finance development projects, given a huge wage bill that
absorbs 70 per cent of its budget and a limited tax base of
70,000 taxpayers. The declining trend of grant-based donor
assistance not only has implications for the sustainability of
development projects, but is also fuelling budget pressures,
with the PA increasing its recourse to loans.
Objectives
To
strengthen the PA's capacity to manage public debt, assist in
developing policies for mobilizing domestic capital resources
and promote greater awareness of the interdependence of trade
finance and development policies.
Projects
Investment,
enterprise and competition
The
Palestinian economy is dominated by family-owned
microenterprises (employing fewer than five persons) that are
not well placed to assume a leading role in developing the
economy. They mainly specialize in manufacturing
labour-intensive products and exhibit low levels of
productivity. The level of private investment falls short of
bringing about the required structural change within the
economy, while the absence of competition laws and policies
continues to generate Palestinian business practices that
distort trade and adversely affect economic development.
Objective
To
support the PA’s efforts in establishing the necessary
institutional framework for strengthening SME competitiveness
in regional and global markets, while fostering interlinkages
among the different sectors of the economy.
Projects
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