New WTO Chairs Programme Website Launched
WTO Secretariat, an ARTNeT partner since 2005, has launched a dedicated website for its WTO Chairs programme available at http://wtochairs.org/ . The website intends to facilitate the sharing of information, encourage discussion, and promote internet-based networking among associated institutions and individuals. It will also be an excellent help in dissemination and in building connections to other knowledge communities, such as ARTNeT.
The WTO Chairs Programme was launched in 2010. It aims to enhance knowledge and understanding of the trading system among academics and policy makers in developing countries.
Academic institutions awarded WTO Chairs receive support in the areas of research, curriculum development, and outreach activities. Fourteen institutions were originally selected as WTO Chairs for a four-year term in 2009. Seven institutions were added to the Programme in May 2014 following a call for tenders.
Two of the WTO Chairs are ARTNeT institutional members. The first is the Shanghai University of International Business and Economics, with Lei Zhang as the Chair Holder; and the Centre for World Trade Studies at the University Gadjah Mada, with the Chair Holder being Riza Arfani. Another WTO Chair that is a collaborator with ARTNeT is the National University of Singapore.
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Asia - Pacific Think Tank Summit 2019
Bangkok; November 10-12, 2019
The Asia-Pacific Think Tank Summit is being held in Bangkok and is a joint organisation between ESCAP and TTCSP. Alongside these institutions, it is supported by ERIA, ADBI, McKinsey Global Institute, Konrad-Adenaur Stiftung, and ARTNeT institutional members Chula Global Network, the International Institute for Trade and Development and the Mekong Institute. The summit aims to provide a platform for learning, exchange of ideas and the incubation of new and innovative ideas for sustainable development. It also strives to increase connectivity between states through the opportunities for participants to meet other representatives, think tanks and policy leaders specialising in sustainable development of the region.
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ASEAN Economic Integration Forum 2019
“INSPIRING BOLD, RESILIENT AND INCLUSIVE ASEAN”
Bangkok; December 9-10 December
The 4th ASEAN Economic Integration Forum 2019 aims to provide a platform that allows leaders from society, industry, academia and government to discuss innovative solutions and to tackle obstacles that are shared among all members of the ASEAN Economic Community. The AEIF 2019 highlights keynote addresses from distinguished speakers and forums on selected sub-themes including business and human rights, rural economic and community-based development, aviation industry, entrepreneurship, trade and investment.
It is expected that the forum will be opened by keynote speakers Mrs. Armida Salsiah Alisjahbana, the Executive Secretary of ESCAP, and H.E. Don Prawudwinai, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Thailand. A number of eminent members of academia, Governments and the private sector from ASEAN and beyond have confirmed their participation. Further details and other information are available here..

WTO Public Forum 2019
Geneva; 8-11 October 2019
The 2019 Public Forum held by the WTO focussed on how the world should adapt to the new trading environment, which is defined by the growing importance of services. The forum highlighted how important services trade is for increasing productivity, creating jobs, improving living standards, while also aiming to satisfy the UN Sustainable Development Goals.
A number of ARTNeT institutional members, collaborators and associated individuals, including ARTNeT advisors, participated in the Forum. The Centre for Policy Dialogue from Bangladesh collaborated with Friedrich-Ebert Stiftung to offer a session on LDC graduation in an evolving WTO, with Dr Mia Mikic, ARTNeT Secretariat, acting as a panelist. Aslo, Mr Abhijit Das, from the Centre for WTO Studies, India was another ARTNeT member focal point to be involved at the forum. KIEP offered a session on Borderless trade of digital contents: Next chapter for the WTO. SUIBE partnered on a session for "New developments of GVCs in the Asia-Pacific region and beyond".
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The 2019 annual NTM week had a main discussion focus on the links between NTM’s and current discussion topics that are key in the news, including trade wars, e-commerce, transparency, and sustainable development. The main sessions that were conducted at the event were based around how trade wars are affecting the implications of such measures, classifications of NTMs, International standard setting bodies and the transparency of trade regulations to name a few. APTIR 2019 was also launched during this event. There is more on this report in the following publications section.
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ARTNeT and ARTNeTONSTI engaged their members in the Regional 2nd Annual Workshop on Increasing Research Impact: Research Translation
Bangkok, October 21-22, 2019
A workshop, co-organised by USAID and UKRI with ESCAP, brought together more than 75 participants from across the region to discuss how to increase the impact of applied research. It was focused on research translation which is used to increase the utilisation of research in policy making by making information comprehensive, plausible and relevant to audiences.
The workshop stresses the existence of gaps between research and policy action, which limit the impact of research in being effectively applied to real-world problems. These gaps occur for many reasons such as, non-representative sampling, which means research findings don’t match up to the target population of the policy, the exclusion of stakeholders in the process and also the divergence between researcher’s desires and those of policy maker’s. In regard to South-East Asia, factors contributing to gaps include: lack of confidence in the reliability of results, institutional challenges (i.e. staff turnover) and a lack of clear, actionable and achievable recommendations. If you are interested in even more information, contact the ARTNeT secretariat.
Photo Description: Left, panel of talkers at the workshop including ARTNeT Secretariat Mia Mikic. Right, Seminar based on the workshop findings.

 

Opportunity: ITCILO Online Course.
Deadline: November 4, 2019.
ITCILO (Information Technology Centre ILO) are offering a second edition of an online course where participants will design and complete a project document that can be used in the real world. By completing the course, participants will be certified as professional project designers, as this course is recognised, meaning that they can add this achievement to their CV. Moreover, the course is being offered completely free for five UNCTAD Vi members. The course will be delivered from 11 November 2019 to 14 February 2020.
For more information on the opportunity please follow this link.

 

New Delhi; December 9–21, 2019 - Deadline, November 8.
The ISID is offering a two-week capacity building programme for research Scholars and faculty members of Indian Universities and colleges under the aegis of the Indian Council of Social Science Research (ICSSR). The content of the programme includes five broad themes: i) industry and market structure; ii) industrial finance, corporate sector and FDI; iii) trade & WTO issues, technology, innovation & IPR, and global integration; iv) political economy of industrialisation; v) research methods, large economic datasets, statistical tools & techniques, e-library training etc.; and vi) Group discussions and presentations. Candidates who wish to apply must complete an application form and a write-up of about 500 words in their area of research interest.
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October, 2019
This report is a co-publication between ESCAP and UNCTAD. The Asia-Pacific Trade and Investment Report for 2019 focuses on the trends and developments of NTMs in the Asia and Pacific Region. The Report highlights the importance of aligning NTMs with international standards, and of simplifying procedures related to these regulatory measures. It also includes a review of good practices for addressing NTMs unilaterally, as well as through multilateral and regional trade agreements. The report closes by offering sets of national-and regional-level policy recommendations for streamlining NTMs for sustainable benefits.
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October, 2019
Produced by ARTNeT member, Korea Institute for International Economic Policy, this paper attempts to identify the impacts of the quality of institution, of both exporters and importers, on trade costs, that are different across country-pairs. Furthermore, the paper fills a gap in the literature as earlier studies focusing on investigating the impact of institutions on the efficiency of the producer, only the exporter’s institution is considered.

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An Evidence of Diverging SAARC Economies
October, 2019
This study attempts to find income-convergence/ divergence among the SAARC countries in the presence of trade liberalisation, technology accumulation, government effectiveness and foreign direct investment. Findings show there is a lack of interregional associations and SAARC as a regional-alliance did not meet the expectations in terms of reaping regional benefits.
Full Paper available here

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International Institute for Trade and development and Ireland academic cooperation
Wednesday 9 October 2019
Executive Director of the International Institute for Trade and Development and the Executive Committee, together with HE Krit Kraichitti, Founding Member of ITD, welcomed HE Joseph Anthony Cott, Ambassador of Ireland to Thailand to discuss the mission of the International Institute for Trade and Development and seek academic cooperation between ITD and the Ireland Science and Research Foundation.

 

Interns and Fellows Wanted
Opportunity
ARTNeT institutional member CSIS is looking for applications for Internships of duration between 10-16 weeks. Applicants are required to have a background in economics, politics or international relations for the research internship programme. They are also offering a Knowledge Management Internship for applicants with the same backgrounds. The fellowships are open to researchers, with positions for both PhD students and post-doctoral research, conducting issues pertinent to Indonesia.
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The Universiti Brunei Darussalam has specific roles in the Institute of Asian Studies (IAS) open for application. There are four fields in which positions are open for application, with one being the need of an economist specialist of ASEAN and Asia Integration. The other areas of focus that are looking for applications are 1.) Language, Culture and Communication in Asia, 2.) Asian Migration, Mobility and Diaspora and 3.) Environment and Sustainable Development in Asia.
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If you were wondering who is collecting and compiling the information for the ARTNeT newsletter and social media, meet James. James is a recent graduate of the University of Glasgow, with an MSc in Economic Development. He is currently also working under the ARTNeT secretariat as a research assistant intern at the United Nations ESCAP Trade, Investment and Innovation Department.