Republic of Congo Trade Facilitation Intervention : Trade Facilitation between Congo and Its Neighbors - Addressing the Bottlenecks
Trade facilitation is one of the key engines of growth in an economy. Improving the quality and reliability of the trade facilitation infrastructure and services is a major building block for reducing transaction costs, attracting domestic and fore...
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| Format: | Report |
| Language: | English en_US |
| Published: |
World Bank, Washington, DC
2017
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| Online Access: | http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/684111495448714514/Trade-facilitation-between-Congo-and-its-neighbors-addressing-the-bottlenecks http://hdl.handle.net/10986/28080 |
| Summary: | Trade facilitation is one of the key
engines of growth in an economy. Improving the quality and
reliability of the trade facilitation infrastructure and
services is a major building block for reducing transaction
costs, attracting domestic and foreign investment, and
expanding access to economic opportunities. The Government
of Congo, Rep. recognizesthat more needs to be done to
address existing constraints to intra-regional trade.
Indeed, efficient trade facilitation is central to achieving
the objectives of Congo’s Vision 2025, whose overarching
goal is to transform the country from a lower middle income
economy to an upper middle income export-oriented economy.
Attaining the country’s vision will require the addressing
of at least three key constraints. Firstly, low investment
in the development and maintenance ofthe country’s physical
infrastructure; secondly, an insufficient and ineffective
capacity to deliver therequired transport and port services;
and thirdly, a lack of international competitiveness and
export diversification. Addressing these constraints will
catalyze the development of modern transport
infrastructureand services, contributing to a reduction in
the cost of doing business and thus increasing the
country’scompetitiveness.Several policies and other
interventions have been implemented by the Government to
address the country’s trade facilitation challenges. Some of
these interventions prioritize improving the quality and
reliability of transport and port infrastructure and
service, whichis critical for reducing transaction costs and
attracting investments, contributing to the broader goals of
inclusive growth by connecting rural communities toeconomic
activities. This report aims to complement these efforts by
making two key contributions. Firstly, it identifies thecore
trade facilitation bottlenecks facing the country,and
explores options for mitigating these challenges. Secondly,
it presents an action plan covering both theexpansion of
physical infrastructure and the developmentof transport
sector structure, regulation, and institutional capacity;
distinguishing between the short-and longer-term measures.
The action plan is expected to strengthen the strategy for
sustainable economic development and for informing dialogue
on required reform measures. The report’s recommendations
are also expected to support more inclusive growth, and also
ensure that said inclusive growth is sustainable. It is
hoped that the report’s findings will be used to inform the
designand implementation of the measures required to promote
trade facilitation. |
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