The globalisation of trade and foreign investment over the past decade, as expressed in the World Trade Organisation (WTO), has significantly exposed economies to competitive pressures of the global economy. New global trading rules under the WTO present both steep challenges and fresh new opportunities to national economies. In this respect, trade integration will become a key policy objective if a country is to succeed in increasing the volume of trade and economic development.

In pursuing this objective, there are a variety of trade instruments that countries in recent years have begun to develop - the most common of which are Free Trade Zones. Although the general concept of a Free Trade Zone is uniform in nature, one encounters a number of different types of Free Trade Zones in different countries. They vary according to national characteristics and the goals set for them by national governments.