Preparing the South Asia Subregional Economic Cooperation Integrated Trade Facilitation Sector Development Program

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The proposed South Asia Subregional Economic Cooperation (SASEC) Integrated Trade Facilitation Sector Development Program (the Program) will help improve Bangladesh's border infrastructure and trade facilitation environment, thereby contributing to the national goals of promoting a favorable industrialization and trade policy regime.The Program will support Bangladesh's implementation of the World Trade Organization's Trade Facilitation Agreement, and related best practices on transport and trade facilitation. The Program will also support the Government of Bangladesh to establish and improve border infrastructure as public goods, which will reduce the cost and time of cross-border transactions and handle international transit cargos. These are aligned with (i) the government's ongoing customs reform and modernization initiatives under Customs Strategic Action Plan 2019-2022, (ii) ADB's Strategy 2030, Operational Priority 7: Fostering Regional Cooperation and Integration, (iii) the SASEC Operational Plan 2016-2025, and (iv) one of the country partnership strategy's priority areas, deepening regional cooperation and integration.