Latest content: Trade and economy

The world’s least developed countries (LDCs) face unique and complex structural constraints that hinder their economic development and transformation. High levels of dependence on primary commodities, underdeveloped productive capacity and low productivity levels, chronic shortages of human capital, weak digital and technological capabilities, underdeveloped private sectors and major infrastructure deficits all combine to undermine their socio-economic prospects, hampering their progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and leaving them highly vulnerable to economic and environmental shocks.

As a result, most LDCs continue to be marginalised in the global economy and in international trade, with the latter reflected in very low shares of global trade in goods and services. They also face daunting socio-economic challenges, particularly in relation to education and health. Poverty levels have been slow to decline and remain alarmingly high in many LDCs.

A Handbook on Public Debt Transparency, produced by the Commonwealth Secretariat’s Debt Management Unit, provides a practical blueprint to assist debt managers and stakeholders to improve transparency in debt management operations through the implementation of a wide range of activities.
The Handbook provides information on key debt transparency issues relevant to both developing and advanced economies based on the Commonwealth Secretariat’s long history of providing technical assistance and capacity-building to debt managers, senior officials and policy-makers in member countries and for stakeholders. The Commonwealth Secretariat’s debt management programme strives to promote sound practices in debt management, including the provisioning of a debt management system since 1983. The Commonwealth Secretariat Debt Recording and Management System (CS-DRMS), an integrated tool for recording, analysing and reporting public sector debt, has evolved into the flagship Commonwealth Meridian, a comprehensive solution that promotes effective and proactive debt management.

The ‘blue economy’ is an evolving development approach centred around sustainable utilisation of the ocean for its full socio-economic potential. It seeks to promote economic growth, social inclusion, and the preservation or improvement of livelihoods, while at the same time ensuring environmental sustainability of ocean and coastal areas. Perhaps nowhere is the blue economy more relevant than in the Caribbean, where it directly supports the economies of 37 coastal and small island countries and territories.

Member countries of the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) have jurisdiction over maritime areas that are significantly larger than their respective land areas and are, therefore, increasingly looking to their maritime waters to both diversify and bolster economic growth by exploring new opportunities for investment, employment and to support local livelihoods. Not only do opportunities exist for growth and innovation in traditional sectors, such as fisheries, marine transport and marine-based tourism, but also to expand into higher-value emerging sectors such as sustainable aquaculture, marine biotechnology and marine renewable energy.