The consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic to unlocking the potential Aid for eTrade in Laos

About Documents

On the occasion of 20th anniversary of the International Institute for Trade and Development (ITD), the ITD hosted “Trade and Development Regional forum 2021” with the theme of “Recharging Asia: Inclusive Growth and Sustainable Development amidst Post Pandemic World” to encourage discussions between policymakers, private sector, academics, and all individuals on developing approaches and guidelines for Asia to fully re-emerge to its true potential both economic and social perspectives from the tide of COVID-19.

In order to better understand the pandemic consequences and recommend possible solutions, the ITD also launch commission papers on 5 different topics, which are 1) BCG Model: Fostering Sustainable Development in Thai Economy 2) COVID-19 and Disruption in Supply Chains: Case study of Asia-Pacific Region 3) E-commerce in India and Japan 4) The consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic to unlocking the potential Aid for eTrade in Laos 5) Thailand’s International Investment Agreements: Moving Towards A More Balanced Investment Protection Regime?

The paper “The consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic to unlocking the potential Aid for eTrade in Laos” studies the current background of e-commerce sector in Lao PDR and international e-commerce activities of Lao people after the spread of COVID-19 by using data from in-depth interviews. The paper suggests Lao government to develop e-commerce related infrastructure in response to the rising trend of e-commerce activities, develop legislation on e-commerce to catch up with the ASEAN context and explore possibility of mutual cooperation between ASEAN countries on e-commerce platform.