Kazakhstan took part in UNCTAD’s discussions on the impact of the COVID-19 on global e-commerce

On 12 March 2021, the Permanent Representative of Kazakhstan to the UN Office in Geneva Zhanar Aitzhanova spoke at the High-level event of the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), dedicated to release the new Report “COVID-19 and E-Commerce: A Global Review”. UNCTAD’s report provides an overview of the global and regional e-commerce transformations in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. UNCTAD notes that amid slowing economic activity, the COVID-19 has led to a surge in global e-commerce and accelerated digital transformation.

The Permanent Representative of Kazakhstan Zh.Aitzhanova informed the event participants about the recent positive e-commerce developments in Kazakhstan due to the COVID-19 pandemic and also spoke about technical cooperation projects on the development of e-commerce with UNCTAD and the International Trade Center.

The event was addressed by UNCTAD Acting Secretary-General Isabelle Durant, UN General Assembly President Volkan Bozkir, as well as high-level representatives of the Ministry of Commerce of Cambodia and business sector representatives of Indonesia and Brazil.

UNCTAD Acting Secretary-General Isabelle Durant in her speech noted that businesses and consumers that were able to go digital have helped mitigate the economic downturn caused by the pandemic. In this regard Ms. Durant underlined the importance for developing countries to be not only consumers of e-commerce, but also to play active role in the digital economy.

UN General Assembly President Volkan Bozkir said that the trend towards e-commerce is likely to continue throughout the recovery from the COVID-19. Mr. Bozkir emphasized the need to recognize the challenges and take steps to support governments and citizens as they continue to embrace new ways of working.

The UNCTAD’s Report “COVID-19 and E-Commerce: A Global Review” provides that in Kazakhstan, the online share of retail sales increased from 5% in 2019 to 9.4% in 2020. E-commerce’s share of global retail trade increased from 14% in 2019 to about 17% in 2020.