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Countries & Regions

 

Europe & Eurasia

CLDP’s earliest programs involved working with countries in Central and Eastern Europe and Central Asia to help those countries transition to economically stable, market-based economies integrated with the rest of the world. Many of these countries have since tied themselves to the world economy by joining the WTO, the European Union, or both. Recent programs have focused on continuing to work with both the public and private sectors in countries in Eastern Europe, Southeastern Europe, the Southern Caucasus, and Central Asia to further align those countries’ rules and processes with international best practices to create attractive business environments for domestic and international businesses.

Global Initiatives

CLDP serves as a key partner for the Energy Governance and Capacity Initiative (EGCI) – a State Department-led multi-agency effort to provide a range of technical and capacity building assistance to the host governments of countries on the verge of becoming major oil and gas producers. EGCI’s core objective is to help these countries establish the capacity to manage their resource revenues wisely and to manage their resource endowments in a manner that maximizes value and transparency. As one of the U.S. agencies providing technical assistance under EGCI, CLDP leverages the expertise of its lawyers and experts to help countries establish commercial law frameworks that incorporate the best practices in contracting, accounting and taxation that ARE essential to attracting foreign investment in a country’s hydrocarbon sector.

Latin America & the Caribbean

CLDP, through interagency agreements with USAID, works closely with local counterparts to offer technical assistance programs in the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Honduras, and Guatemala. In the Dominican Republic, CLDP works with the country’s national government procurement agency to improve the transparency and effectiveness of its procurement systems and procedures, primarily in citizen security institutions in addition to improving access to government contracts for small and women-owned businesses. This program has expanded its activities to address the challenges and barriers to entry for women-owned businesses in the public procurement system. In Central America’s Northern Triangle (El Salvador, Honduras, and Guatemala), CLDP is strengthening regional trade facilitation through capacity-building efforts with public and private sector representatives to enhance transparency initiatives such as inclusive public consultation and effective interagency coordination. CLDP also collaborates with government and private sector representatives of this region to improve microgrid infrastructure to support further economic prosperity. As a major textiles and apparel exporter, El Salvador receives CLDP technical assistance through trainings and consultations for industry representatives to strengthen human and institutional capacity and to improve their use of the Central America-Dominican Republic Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA-DR). CLDP also conducts programming to strengthen insolvency and public procurement systems throughout South America. Through this programming, CLDP assists in the development and implementation of internationally recognized practices related to insolvency and public procurement to foster increased transparency, efficiency, and economic prosperity.

The Middle East & North Africa

Since 1998, CLDP has worked to foster greater political stability through economic development in the Middle East and North Africa.  By supporting the development of laws and practices that support trade liberalization, economic diversification and entrepreneurship, CLDP works to improve economic growth in the Middle East. Through our work with the US Department of State’s Middle East Partnership Initiative (MEPI) and USAID, we have connected US Government experts with their counterparts throughout the region to provide technical assistance and training on a range of commercial and legal issues.

South Asia

CLDP engages in a variety of technical assistance programs throughout South Asia, and is currently operating in Pakistan, Afghanistan, Sri Lanka, the Maldives, India, Bangladesh, and Nepal. CLDP’s work in South Asia aims to advance economic development by enhancing the legal environment for commerce.  CLDP partners with governments and the private sector in South Asia to support sustainable and transparent reform and enforcement of commercial law and economic policy, which creates greater opportunity for domestic and foreign trade and investment, encourages the expansion of private businesses and job creation, and helps level the competitive playing field. CLDP technical assistance includes programming in trade and investment, intellectual property (IP), technology transfer and innovation, competition and consumer protection, energy, mining and other extractives, company and franchise law, information and communication technology (ICT), transportation and infrastructure, eCommerce and cyber law, banking and financing, insolvency and bankruptcy, alternative dispute resolution (ADR), continuing legal education (CLE), and women’s economic empowerment.  Participants in CLDP programming include government officials (e.g., judges, lawyers, regulators), as well as members of the private sector (e.g., lawyers, businessmen, other professionals).

Southeast Asia and the Pacific

CLDP is engaged in Southeast Asia and the Pacific Islands in support of two government-wide initiatives to help meet the region’s critically important need for high quality infrastructure.

  • Infrastructure Transaction and Assistance Network (ITAN); which aims to streamline and strategically deploy US government tools that promote private sector investment in infrastructure in the Indo-Pacific in a comprehensive and cohesive manner.
  • Asia Enhancing Development and Growth through Energy (AsiaEDGE); which aims to strengthen energy security and promote energy access across the Indo-Pacific.

CLDP works with governments in Southeast Asia and the Pacific Islands to develop transparent legal and procedural frameworks to oversee complex infrastructure projects. CLDP's efforts help build the lndo-Pacific region's capacity to attract high quality investors and developers, procure sustainable, high-standard infrastructure, and reach financial close on projects.

Countries within CLDP’s Southeast Asia portfolio include Thailand, Cambodia, Burma (Myanmar), Malaysia, Timor Leste, Indonesia, Philippines, Vietnam, and the Pacific Islands.

Sub-Saharan Africa

CLDP seeks to improve the trade and investment-enabling environment in Sub-Saharan Africa through the strengthening of regional intellectual property (IP) protection in West, East, Central, and Southern Africa. Since 2007, under the African Global Competitiveness Initiative (AGCI), CLDP continues to engage both individual countries, (Ghana, Nigeria, Liberia, Mali, South Africa, Kenya, and others as determined) as well as Regional Economic Communities such as the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS); Southern Africa Development Community (SADC); and the East African Community (EAC) on the reform and strengthening of IP legislation, IP administration, IP enforcement, and IP outreach.