Introduction

For decades, the Asia-Pacific growth story has been built on openness, integration, and the belief that trade could deliver prosperity for all. Yet the region’s trade agreements—hundreds of them now in force—remain largely silent on one of the most critical determinants of sustainable growth: inclusion. While gender and MSME references are gradually finding their way into new agreements, the inclusion of Indigenous Peoples and other marginalised groups (e.g.

The rapid expansion of e-commerce is opening new avenues for entrepreneurship worldwide. Yet in developing countries, especially for women-led small businesses, access to these opportunities is often limited by structural and digital barriers. Different levels of development, gender and age have a significant impact on the productive use of the Internet, including on the likelihood of using it for business. 

Global trade is undergoing a troubling transformation, marked by an erosion of foundational principles such as non-discrimination and Most Favoured Nation (MFN) treatment. This shift, led by the United States’ move toward a power-based, interest-driven approach, may be mirrored by other economies. The unraveling of these long-standing norms threatens the predictability and benefits for all that have underpinned the international trading system since 1947.

BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa) is indeed a relatively young organization, established in 2009. BRICS Countries Grouping evolved from an idea in 2001 by Goldman Sachs economist Jim O'Neill, who proposed it merely on the basis of economic prospects these countries have in the evolving and shifting global economic order. Its primary objective has been on economic cooperation, development, and promoting multilateralism.

Multilateral rules-based trade, championed by the World Trade Organization (WTO) and its predecessor, the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), refers to the system where international trade is conducted according to agreed-upon transparent, non-discriminatory and impartial rules, negotiated by all its members, rather than being subject to the whims of individual governments.

In July 2023, Germany rolled out its much-awaited strategic document on China.  The  strategy highlights how Germany perceives China now (italics added)  given China’s economic rise, as well  as how Germany would want to interact now (italics added), bilaterally and multilaterally, with China.

While railway is considered an economical and efficient mode of transportation, cross-border railway connectivity in the BIMSTEC (Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation) region is constrained by varying track gauges, among other factors.

Cambodia’s investment law that was put in place for the first time in 1994 consisting of 9 chapters was amended in 2003 to revise a number of articles (RGC, 1994 and 2003). The 2003 Amended Law on Investment was an important step, among others, with regard to the investment approval scheme by adopting the automatic approval system of the investment projects which must be completed within 31 working days after the investment project was filed to be considered for approval (RGC, 2003, Article 7 New).

Even as India’s FTA negotiation priorities have seen a noteworthy course correction to match her domestic priorities, we are yet to see a similar convergence in  relation to negotiation strategies adopted at the multilateral level.