Connector country – United Arab Emirates BOX 10 The GATF at Bhomra Land Port, Bangladesh BOX 11Through its strategic location, diplomatic agility and sustained investment in trade technology, the United Arab Emirates has positioned itself as a bridge between regions, connecting Asia, Africa, Europe, the Americas and the Middle East. –Neutral economic diplomacy: The United Arab Emirates has maintained balanced relationships with major powers across the globe. Its willingness to engage with countries such as Costa Rica, Australia and Serbia through CEPAs demonstrates how a connector state can sustain cross-bloc collaboration, even amid global polarization. –Infrastructure for the good of the global public: By developing world-class ports, logistics systems and digital corridors (e.g. the United Arab Emirates–India trade bridge), the United Arab Emirates ensures that the technology underpinning supply chains remains open, efficient and trustworthy in times of political uncertainty. Through these efforts, the United Arab Emirates demonstrates how connector diplomacy can strengthen technological innovation, offering the global system continuity when political consensus is absent. The GATF worked with Swisscontact, the Bangladesh Land Port Authority (BLPA), and the Bhomra C&F Agents Association to replace paper-based procedures at Bangladesh’s key crossing with India (West Bengal) with a digital ePort management system to move goods more efficiently across the border. This project: 1. Introduced an e-payment system to facilitate online payments, eliminating the requirement to pay in person at designated offices 2. Implemented an automated port-billing feature, streamlining bill generation to improve speed and accuracy3. Enabled traders and C&F agents to track consignments online, eliminating the need for constant physical contact to verify truck movements 4. Created unprecedented levels of trust through facilitating extensive engagement, training and workshops involving BLPA officials, C&F agents and importers/exporters 5. Built a successful template system for roll-out to the country’s 22 other land ports Source: Global Alliance for Trade Facilitation. (n.d.). Bangladesh Impact Flyer. https://www.tradefacilitation.org/wp-content/ uploads/2025/01/Alliance-Impact-in-Bangladesh-1.pdf.The Future of Investment and Trade Partnership (FITP) exemplifies how connector countries can bring regions together and strengthen the tradetech stack. The FITP is a plurilateral initiative of 14 economies from around the world that are committed to open and rules-based trade and aim to develop solutions in four priority areas, including the adoption and integration of trade technologies.11 By connecting economies to address tradetech in particular, the FITP is paving the way for collaborative solutions within the national governance layer. Enterprises and enablers own and operate the majority of global logistics systems, data platforms and payment networks that underpin the global trade system. Therefore, the international and national governance layers must collaborate closely with these layers to fortify the connective fabric. A flagship example of a cross-layer partnership is the Global Alliance for Trade Facilitation (GATF), which supports low- and middle-income countries in streamlining trade-related processes through technology to transport goods across borders efficiently. Other initiatives, like the TradeTech Regulatory Sandbox, focus instead on balancing technological innovation with enabling regulatory frameworks to ensure that new solutions are tested for compliance and safety while supporting the efficient adoption of tech in trade.3.3 Cross-layer partnerships The TradeTech Paradox: Connectivity Amid Fragmentation 26

The TradeTech Paradox Connectivity Amid Fragmentation 2026