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Balkan Insight
a day ago
- Politics
- Balkan Insight
Street protests in Ukraine: causes, features and consequences
August 12, 2025 - Valerii Pekar - Articles and Commentary A protest in Kyiv against the limting of powers of Ukraine's two anti-corruption bodies on July 22, 2025. Photo: Vitaliy Holovin / Shutterstock Eleven years ago, the Revolution of Dignity put an end to the uncertainty and 'multi-vector' nature of Ukrainian politics and secured the European choice of the Ukrainian people. In the same year, the Association Agreement between Ukraine and the EU was signed and ratified. In the following years, the Free Trade Area and visa-free regime has come into effect; the course for EU membership has been included in the Constitution of Ukraine; and eventually the country received the status of a candidate country and began negotiations. Today, the European Union and its members are reliable partners of Kyiv in strengthening defence and financing the state budget during war time. At all these stages, independent and effective anti-corruption institutions remain one of the key conditions for Ukraine's European integration. They are not a technical detail, but a systemic requirement, one of the main criteria for assessing Ukraine's progress on the path to EU membership and a symbol of compatibility regarding politics and values. For the past 11 years, an unwritten agreement between the people and authorities has been in effect in Ukraine. This was centred on not rowing back on the gains achieved during the Revolution of Dignity — primarily the course toward Europe. While this agreement was in effect, people use to forgive every administration for a lot of mistakes, as the main idea was preserved. This idea is what the entire country is based on — the dream of a European, not a Russian, future. In times of war, this meant self-restraint on the part of citizens. Despite the authorities' mistakes, people would not criticize the government or enter into any kind of confrontation. The people understood the extraordinary challenges for the country and the lack of elections on the horizon. The law that was adopted, which became a trigger for mass protests, eliminates the independence of anti-corruption bodies, turning them into units of an unreformed and politically dependent prosecutor's office. It also significantly limits the effectiveness of these bodies' work, depriving them of the opportunity to maintain the confidentiality of investigations. In essence, this means the destruction of one of the most important factors that keep Ukraine's doors to the European Union open. The law has challenged the trust and support from European partners, which is vital in times of war, and has threatened the Ukrainian dream of a better future that gives people strength both on the front and in the rear. Among other things, this creates grounds for rolling back the existing achievements of European integration and significantly increases the financial risks for the country. The extremely rapid adoption of the law with numerous violations of the parliament's regulations; pressure on members of parliament (and the fact that many MPs who are the subjects of the investigations voted with a clear conflict of interest); and immediate signing by the president while the laws most important for the country's defence and budget have remained not signed for months, all looked like a sudden and decisive change in the country's geopolitical course. The effect of the unwritten social contract created the illusion among the authorities that there is not any public resistance, and this has led to the accumulation of errors. A critical mass has finally formed in recent months. There has also been disruption regarding the reboot of the Bureau of Economic Security and the High Qualification Commission of Judges, as well as the application of politically motivated selective justice to public activists, military personnel, journalists, etc. This has created a feeling of returning to 2013, when Ukraine's geopolitical and civilizational choice had not yet been made. So, in the eyes of a large part of society, the social contract has been broken. For their part, people felt free before as they held up their half of the social contract. People who took to the streets in all major cities in Ukraine (including those close to the front line, where daily shelling occurs), view the current events as a disruption of the course towards European integration, for which the high bloody price was paid not only during the Revolution of Dignity 2013-14, but also during the war to oppose Russian aggression aimed at changing Ukraine's European choice. The rallies of thousands in major cities were spontaneous and genuine. This is what the people's voice sounds like, the voice of dissatisfied citizens whose future is being stolen. Old tradition, new features I would like to emphasize that the street protests have been organized and populated not by traditional NGOs but by the next generation — very young people for whom the Revolution of Dignity in 2013-14 is history, a legend. They grew up in confidence in the immutability of the European course. At the same time, other generations joined, and many war veterans were visible. For the older ones, their key thought was expressed in blunt terms: 'I can't believe I still have to protest this shit.' For the younger ones, the key slogans were related to their feeling that their European and democratic dream was being taken away from them and instead they were being pushed onto the Russian authoritarian path ('Ukraine is not Russia,' 'My father did not die for this,' etc.). For the youth who form the core of the protest, this is the first political event in their life, it is their psychological initiation — their entry into adulthood and subjectivity. To some extent, they feel like they are continuing the tradition, and this is evidenced by the slogans of previous Maidan revolutions (1990, 2004-05, 2013-14) that occasionally emerge among the new ones. An incredible new feature of the 'cardboard revolution' is that almost every person is the bearer of his/her own creative slogan, and they want to be photographed and recorded. This is a manifestation of higher subjectivity, a Ukrainian take on 'I am a drop in the ocean.' The light, joyful mood and confidence in strength contrast with the first days of Euromaidan in 2013, when a feeling of lost chances and 'hopeless hopes' hung in the air. Another important feature of the current protests is the noticeable increase in the value of institutions. The Orange Revolution in 2004-05 was for a political personality, while the Revolution of Dignity in 2013-14 was for civilizational choice. Now, the people are raising their voice for state institutions (although there are many complaints about the work of anti-corruption institutions). Protesters have clearly indicated their pro-state, not anti-state, position. I would like to separately note that the progress of the police (from privates to generals) over 11 years is visible to the naked eye. The protests showed the confusion of the authorities. The old political strategists do not know what to do with free people, born not in slavery, but in freedom. Sincerity cannot be faked. The president's legality (legal right to rule) remains unchanged in wartime, but his legitimacy (public recognition of the moral right to rule) has suffered greatly. Unfortunately, the parliament showed insufficient subjectivity. It was the parliament that saved Ukraine from all the crises in its recent political history, but not now. Some MPs were intimidated, and some could not figure it all out under pressure. But also among the MPs there are some who are very outdated, mentally stuck at the beginning of the century, 20 years behind. It is as if they missed all the events of those times. People are studying and judging the behaviour of each specific MP. Some prestigious communities have expelled MPs from their ranks. The protests saved Ukraine's image in the West, which is vital for the country. Instead of the bad impression that Kyiv has rejected the fight against corruption and turned away from the European path, now there is an understanding that society and the political elite have diverged in positions in a democratic way and are now trying to resolve the problem. For the first time, western observers have seen in Zelenskyy the person that Ukrainians are used to seeing: not a fantastic hero embodying all the virtues of the nation, but a living person with advantages and disadvantages, who suddenly faces the challenge of leading the resistance of millions of heroes. In the western consciousness, a decoupling of Ukraine and Volodymyr Zelenskyy has begun to occur. Russia is in shock and has not yet digested what it has seen. On the one hand, they hope to use the protests to weaken Ukrainian unity, but they do not yet know how, because they do not understand Ukrainian society. On the other hand, their greatest fear, which has terrified them since the collapse of the USSR, has appeared before their eyes. This is not the end of the story. Ukraine must emerge from this political crisis stronger, not weaker, and that is no easy task. Postscript All of the above was written before the parliament voted on the presidential law on restoring the independence of anti-corruption bodies. Under the simultaneous pressure of civil society and international partners, the political mistake was corrected. Thus, Ukraine took the first important step towards overcoming the political crisis through activism, solidarity and wisdom. It can be said that the youth saved Ukraine's loyalty to its European choice and democracy. This is not the end, but the beginning. First, the independence of anti-corruption bodies was restored, but other simultaneously introduced deteriorations in the rule of law were not corrected. Second, Ukraine has missed a number of indicators and milestones in accordance with its obligations to the EU and international financial institutions. We have not yet returned to the point where we were before the crisis began. And we still do not understand who has learned what lessons from these historical events. The minimum agenda, defined by civil society organizations and international commitments, includes: launching the reform of the Bureau of Economic Security and Custom Office; renewing the use of international experts in the High Qualification Commission of Judges; appointing selected judges to the Constitutional Court; rejecting problematic amendments to the Criminal Code; fully restoring television broadcasts from the parliament, including committee meetings; and introducing the timely signing of adopted draft laws by the president. The best way to fully overcome the crisis is political leadership in reforms, which will restore undermined trust both internally and externally. Street protests in times of war are an extremely dangerous phenomenon. At the same time, they have to be resorted to when there are no other ways. The participants in the protests showed wisdom, solidarity and tolerance. All this would not have happened if a systematic dialogue had been established between the authorities, expert communities and civil society. If everything remains as it is, further mistakes are inevitable. At the same time, comparing the current situation with the previous mass protests of past decades shows how incredibly Ukrainian society has grown. Valerii Pekar is a chairman of the board of Decolonization NGO, the author of four books, an adjunct professor at the Kyiv-Mohyla Business School and Business School of the Ukrainian Catholic University, and a former member of the National Reform Council. New Eastern Europe is a reader supported publication. Please support us and help us reach our goal of $10,000! We are nearly there. Donate by clicking on the button below. corruption, NABU, Russian invasion of Ukraine, Ukrainian politics, Ukrainian society, Verkhovna Rada, Volodymyr Zelenskyy
IOL News
14-07-2025
- Business
- IOL News
Groundhog Day within A Bipolar World, But A New Economic World Order for Africa: A Crucial Opportunity To Propel the African Continental Free Trade Area
Dr Dawn Isabel Nagar discusses the challenges and opportunities facing Africa in a bipolar world, highlighting the potential for the African Continental Free Trade Area to drive economic growth and development. Image: IOL / Ron AI By Dr Dawn Isabel Nagar, University of Johannesburg, South Africa The world has become like Groundhog Day with the old issues infused with the new ones – a deja vu – an unfortunate reality, a serious hopelessness, which will certainly not reach the United Nations (UN) 2030 Global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Agenda, fast becoming a pipe-dream. Amid the sea of chaos, is an emergence of a new economic world order, provided to Africa, a great opportunity to use Putman's two-level game theory to its advantage ; see also Nagar, 'UN-AU Relations: Towards Sustainable Peace and Economic Development: The Attainment of Agenda 2063' in, African Union and Agenda 2063: Past, Present and Future Matlosa and Adeola, eds., UJ Press, 2025. The world's ongoing wars clearly shows a pattern of economic deluge, particularly for least developed and developed states. The severity of economic impacts is continuing – with an ever-evolving amoeba effect – changing shapes –shape-shifters, but always the same issues at play. Currently: the world is facing a dangerous bipolar world order, where superpower rivalry of the world's largest economies: China and the US is competing for power. The US is determined to uphold its slogan of 'making America great again'. Greed and grievance are placing Israel and the US at the forefront of how global order ought to flow in defiance of multilateralism. Globally, multilateralism is to move states and societies across boundaries: criss-crossing trade, politics and security – the world is supposedly to be interconnected. But the UN 1945 Charter with all its critical organs is stifled and severely challenged. Several policies are closing borders while others display dangerous schizophrenic state behaviour. Geopolitics are displaying danger to world order. Such behaviours are demonstrated in great appetites to expand and gobble up countries, for example (the case of Canada against the US, 2025). Similarly, the same superpower is displaying double standards and shouting 'racism' and land-grabbers. Such are the false accusations made against South Africa, accusing the country of expelling their White farmers. A dangerous rhetoric promoted by a superpower's attempts to destroy a peaceful South Africa (the case of South Africa against the US, 2025). Africa must not be swayed by world chaos. Particularly with a country such as South Africa that has transitioned from a devastating apartheid past into a peaceful democracy and boast a government of national unity. Africa must unite against barbaric behaviours and hold fast to it its democratic principles and be determined not to import racism. These are all done in attempts to derail Africa's powerhouse: South Africa. This country has great leverage to elevate the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) with other strong industrialised Africa economies, such as the Seychelles, Mauritius, Egypt, Nigeria, Kenya, Rwanda, Ghana and among others, particularly at the forthcoming Group of Twenty States (G20) November 2025 summit. Africa's key instrument is a crucial pillar – a contemporary club in hand –– the African Continental Free Trade Area: and can drive its own agenda of greater value-addition and industrialisation among its 55 member states. This new economic world order is coming as a great opportunity to Africa's advantage and challenge this international disorder and to oppose neo-colonialist, neo-mercantilist, neo-realist and racist policies of the superpowers such as the US, (which will soon turn realism to its own demise) and to Africa's advantage. Video Player is loading. 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Advertisement Next Stay Close ✕ Africa's interdependency among and between states should become more and more reliant within the bloc. The fourth industrial revolution (4IR/4.0) and soon to enter Fifth Industrial Revolution (5IR/5.0) era, where artificial intelligence and technological advancements is moving at a tumultuous pace offers great opportunity for a youthful Africa (60 percent of its 1.4 billion people are youth). However, in a bipolar world order, when power dynamics and greed work against the stream – and while the world is going forward the dictates of realism is moving the world into the opposite direction, which is having catastrophic effects (and are growing at an exponential pace) within the international relations systems. As realism dictates: within the international relations discipline: powerful states will use their economic and military muscle to achieve their parochial interests at all costs, and in-so-doing such actions have consequences. These consequences mean the pursuit of wars, humanitarian disasters, the loss of millions of lives, internally displaced persons, and the increased numbers of economies plummeting – regardless: the interests of the realist state in its entirety takes preference. On Africa's part, the continent with the most least developed and poverty-stricken states in the world, just minutes into President Trump's presidency, had to experience the wrath of the Trump Administration's tariff hikes. President Trump indeed fulfilled his campaign promises that brought him into power (see particularly, Dr Dawn Nagar, <"How President Donald Trump's cutting off of SA's US funding helps Africa fight 'begging bowl syndrome">, Independent Online, March 2025; and 30 years of South Africa's Regional Economic Integration Role in Southern Africa and Its Attempt to Improve SADC's Regional Political Economy: Progress, Problems and Prospects, 1994–2024', Dawn Nagar, 2025 research paper, SAIIA forthcoming]). The AfCFTA must be the priority and top the agenda at the forthcoming G20 summit – the body which was established in December 1999 at a Berlin Conference – a crucial intergovernmental economic forum comprising 19 countries and two regional unions – the European Union (EU) and the African Union, which South Africa will be hosting in November 2025. South Africa must address its comparative advantage initiatives to South Africa's G20 theme: Solidarity, Equality, and Sustainable Development aligned to the AfCFTA. Africa's issues must be pursued with the correct trading partners at the G20 November 2025 Summit meeting in South Africa. Within a new economic world order and to become the game-changer, the AfCFTA must accurately address pressing continental-wide sustainable development gaps and challenges important to its people. The bloc must consider clear rules of engagement with strategic international partners. Africa has great potential, for example, North, West, Southern and East Africa are all oil crude petroleum producing countries with Africa comprising 7 countries of the 15-member of the Organisation of the Petroleum Producing Countries (OPEC) including: Algeria, Angola, Congo Brazzaville, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Libya, and Nigeria; these states must use their comparative advantage to build the AfCFTA. On South Africa's part, this country's automotive sector is not shallow and have the resources and research at hand to propel its automotive industry, .' To produce value-add industrialisation that considers climate change and the environment, require solid research and development knowledge that is clear and precise on how to capture and create carbon carriers and storage – and the University of Johannesburg has solid research-backing and leading on these issues. The AfCFTA must use academic muscle to propel Africa's continental goals at the 2025 G20 Summit. For example, the University of Johannesburg recently on 18 June 2025 ranked number one in South Africa and the African continent. UJ affirmed its global leadership in sustainable development, retaining a remarkable position #1 in South Africa and on the African continent. Also see 2025 Times Higher Education (THE) Impact Rankings released on, 18 June 2025. UJ is a leader in green hydrogen renewable energy; education, electrical and chemical engineering, automobile industry; law; neurodiversity; chemical engineering; health sciences; chemical sciences, actuarial sciences, sport and a robust alumni-base globally, and among other critical research and development initiatives. Taking into account who to engage with in trade is crucial within a new economic world order and to be the game-changer for the AfCFTA to address pressing continental-wide sustainable development gaps and challenges. Trade agreements must inculcate a multiplier effect in building small and medium-sized businesses through building cooperatives that can access stock exchange markets. South Africa's President Honourable Cyril Ramaphosa will indeed be handing over well-established reins to the next G20 Trump Administration presidency chairmanship – and indeed it will not be an unceremonious occasion – in matching the dots for our country with the African continental member states by using the AfCFTA as the anchor. (Please note: that these views are those of the author and not those of the University of Johannesburg). ** The views expressed do not necessarily reflect the views of IOL or Independent Media.
The Star
27-05-2025
- Business
- The Star
China ready to work with Asean, GCC for development, says Premier
KUALA LUMPUR: China is ready to work with Asean and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) to leverage synergy for shared development and prosperity, says Chinese Premier Li Qiang. He said that the cooperation between China, Asean, and the GCC accounts for about a quarter of the world's population and economic output. "As Chinese President Xi Jinping said, 'To emerge from the fog and reach the summit', the greatest power is unity, and the most effective method is collective cooperation," he added. Li then said that China is ready to work with Asean and the GCC to fully leverage the synergy of '1 + 1 + 1 > 3', becoming a powerful driving force for our shared development and prosperity. He said this in his opening remarks at the inaugural Asean-GCC-China Summit themed "Synergising Economic Opportunities Towards Shared Prosperity" on Tuesday (May 27). Also present were Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and Kuwait's Crown Prince Sheikh Sabah Khaled Al-Hamad Al-Sabah, the president of the current session of the Supreme Council of the GCC. By connecting the three markets, Li said the three blocs can unlock greater development potential and stronger economies of scale. "China and Asean have completed negotiations on the upgraded version 3.0 of the Free Trade Area agreement. We look forward to all parties swiftly concluding negotiations on a China-GCC Free Trade Agreement,' he said. Li added that this can help raise the level of trilateral trade. "We must remain committed to expanding regional openness and strive to turn our three regions into a shared mega-market," he said. He added that resources, technology, and talent should flow more efficiently, and trade and investment should become freer and more convenient. Li then said China aims to create a model for cooperation across different stages of development. "The three stakeholders are at different stages in their development journeys, but I believe these differences offer opportunities for complementarity and synergy," he said. Li also said that China is willing, on the basis of mutual respect and equality, to align development strategies with Asean and the GCC. "We should turn each party's strengths into shared strengths while helping each other tackle new development challenges. Together, we can pioneer new models of international industrial and economic cooperation,' said Li. "We can work toward a system where each contributes what they can and shares in the collective prosperity," he added. He proposed creating a model of cross-civilisational integration where the three blocs are homes to diverse communities. "We share the values of peace, cooperation, openness, and inclusiveness. We should promote deeper cultural exchanges to solidify the foundation of our shared renewal,' said Li. "We can manage differences through mutual understanding and stimulate mutually beneficial cooperation through the exchange of ideas and wisdom. This will help us explore a new path of inclusive and progressive interaction among civilisations," he added.
New York Post
14-05-2025
- Politics
- New York Post
Trump's Middle East tour: Letters to the Editor — May 15, 2025
The Issue: President Trump's diplomatic trip to Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates. President Trump's meetings in Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates are being closely watched by allies and adversaries. ('Trump's Mideast Vision,' Editorial, May 14). Advertisement After working on foreign policy for decades, President Joe Biden was a total failure in the Middle East. Those failures make Trump's diplomatic work to restore stable relations tricky, but not impossible. Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio can initiate a desperately needed reset of US-Middle East relationships to deter aggression, safeguard American interests in the region and counter further threats from Iran. James Patterson Advertisement Washington, DC Reading about Trump's visit to the Middle East, I think he is doing what former President George W. Bush started but never completed — creating a Middle East Free Trade Area. Now I understand the meaning of the quote: 'George Washington created the presidency and John Adams defined it.' Advertisement Trump is defining his style, knowing the complex dynamics of the global community, and in the process, he is defining his presidency. Just like the song: 'My Way' by Frank Sinatra. Anant Nagpur Ottawa, Canada As an American, I'm so proud of Trump's visit to the Middle East. Advertisement I was proud to see him carry himself so professionally and presidentially in Saudi Arabia, representing America while showing respect toward Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and his country. Mo Colarusso Manhattan Sen. Chris Murphy is calling the Trump trip to the Middle East a 'public corruption tour.' These do-nothing Democrats find absolutely nothing this president does well, in any sense of the word. Where were these morons during the last four years, when we had open borders, high inflation, crime on the rise and no trade deals at all? I truly believe if Trump cured cancer, they would say 'cancer is a good thing.' President John Kennedy must be rolling over in his grave looking at the Democratic Party of today. Advertisement He'd now be a Republican. Philip Vallone Ossining Advertisement The Issue: Not enough air-traffic controllers at Newark Airport amid 45-day 'trauma leaves.' I hesitantly write this letter condemning the air-traffic controllers who opted for 45-day extended leaves from their critically important duties guiding commercial airliners at Newark Liberty International Airport due to stress ('Newark fly by fright,' May 13). I'm not sure how much they regard the safety of innocent passengers, who rely on them being in their positions in the tower. This is especially hurtful when we all remember the recent preventable catastrophe in Washington, DC, where a commercial jetliner crashed with a US Army helicopter. Advertisement Joe Torrillo Manalapan, NJ The air-traffic-control-system debacle is another mess left behind by former President Joe Biden and his fumbling, stumbling crew. Be it air, rail or sea, whenever there was a crisis, it seems Biden Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg was away on paternity leave or globe-trotting with his husband. Advertisement Nicholas Maffei Yonkers This airport is an accident waiting in the wings. At one point, there was only one air-traffic controller in charge. Sean Duffy did indeed blame the Biden administration for the existing chaos, but it's time to put that aside and get a safe airport in order. Ron Zajicek Cortlandt Want to weigh in on today's stories? Send your thoughts (along with your full name and city of residence) to letters@ Letters are subject to editing for clarity, length, accuracy, and style.
Scoop
13-05-2025
- Business
- Scoop
APEC Trade Officials Lay Groundwork For Ministerial Meeting
Issued by the APEC Committee on Trade and Investment Jeju, Republic of Korea, 11 May 2025 Trade and investment officials from the 21 APEC member economies gathered in Jeju for the second meeting of the Committee on Trade and Investment, laying critical groundwork ahead of next week's APEC Ministers Responsible for Trade Meeting. Amid persistent global economic uncertainty, the meeting underscored APEC's enduring role in maintaining open and predictable trade and investment systems. Under Korea's host year theme of 'Building a Sustainable Tomorrow: Connect, Innovate, Prosper,' members discussed how APEC can support the multilateral trading system, and reviewed concrete proposals to advance the Free Trade Area of the Asia Pacific (FTAAP) agenda, boost digital trade, strengthen supply chain resilience and connectivity, and deepen cooperation on sustainable and inclusive growth initiatives. 'In Jeju, APEC economies came together with a clear mission: to advance technical work so our ministers can deliver strong, collective outcomes next week,' said Christopher Tan, Chair of the Committee on Trade and Investment (CTI). 'As we head toward the Ministers Responsible for Trade Meeting, the spirit of collaboration remains our strongest asset. APEC thrives when we work together—constructively, inclusively and with purpose,' Tan added. Among the key items discussed were Korea's flagship deliverables for 2025, including the APEC Artificial Intelligence Initiative and the Collaborative Framework on Demographic Change. The AI initiative aims to drive economic growth and resilience by enhancing AI readiness, strengthening institutional and workforce capacities, and catalyzing investment in sustainable digital infrastructure. The demographic framework, meanwhile, seeks to address region-wide challenges such as aging populations and labor shortages through cross-border collaboration, human resource mobility and structural reforms. The meeting also heard updates from the APEC Business Advisory Council (ABAC), which called on economies to support the multilateral trading system with the WTO as its core. ABAC reiterated the importance of the Investment Facilitation for Development Agreement, the E-Commerce Agreement and the establishment of a permanent E-Commerce Moratorium. The council also emphasized the need for early FTAAP deliverables, greener trade practices and inclusive policies that champion universal economic participation and empower women and small businesses, as well as the establishment of a Centre of Excellence for Paperless Trade. Another highlight was the discussion on the Implementation Plan for the Lima Roadmap (2025–2040), a regional strategy to support informal economic actors in transitioning to the formal and global economy. The plan encourages APEC economies to align policies and capacity-building efforts to foster entrepreneurship, digital access, and financial inclusion. Members also deliberated on advancing the FTAAP agenda, with the CTI holding its first policy dialogue under the Ichma Statement that discussed on how APEC can improve trade facilitation amongst members as well as increase the convergence of regional trade agreements. Members discussed proposals on capacity building, paperless trade, digital trade and support for women participation in global value chain. Looking ahead, outcomes from this meeting will directly inform ministerial discussions on 15–16 May in Jeju, where APEC trade ministers are expected to chart the region's path on priorities such as WTO reform, inclusive digital trade, and regional economic integration.
