This report explores how aid for trade can be modernized to support Asia and the Pacific's recovery from the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic and progress toward the Sustainable Development Goals.

Aid for trade has an important role to play in supporting pandemic recovery, especially for the region's lower-middle-income and least developed countries. Aid for trade can help by supporting forward-looking trade and digital policies that reduce vulnerability, strengthen resilience, and foster economic growth. This report looks at how aid for trade should be modernized so it reflects new economic and trade realities including the risk of global value chains disruptions, preference erosion, the emergence of new digital technologies, and the rising need for regional cooperation.