Aid for trade can support post-pandemic recovery in Asia and the Pacific by enabling regional trade agreements to deliver on economic growth, providing adjustment assistance and enabling the growth of the digital economy. Despite its potential, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) is recommending new policies to make aid for trade more geared at addressing inequalities in the region and environmental sustainability.
Aid for trade figures in the Asia and Pacific region
Since long ago, the Asia and Pacific region has been one of the main beneficiaries of aid for trade flows in the world. In 2017–2019, the Asia and Pacific region received 35% of average global aid for trade flows. Between 2002 and 2019 the services sector grew fastest than any other sector, with a strong growth in transport, storage, energy investments, agriculture, banking and financial services. In 2019 aid for trade inflows to the region accounted for 16.4 billion dollars, 53% of whom addressed to South Africa and 29.6% to Southeast Asia. Least developed countries (LDCs) in Asia and the Pacific accounted for 36.1% of total inflows in 2020 with substantial increases in Bangladesh, Myanmar, and the Solomo
