ITC to celebrate its 50-year anniversary with high-level debate on SME competitiveness

The International Trade Centre (ITC) will convene a high-level discussion on ‘ITC: 50 Years of Trade Impact for Good’ in Geneva on 10 June 2014 to commemorate its 50th anniversary this year.

The event, to be opened by ITC Executive Director Arancha González and the Acting Director-General of the United Nations Office in Geneva, Michael Møller, will be held at the World Trade Organization headquarters. It will examine trends in trade and development, and trade-related technical assistance from a policy perspective.

The speakers include Ghana’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Hanna Tetteh, and Lao People’s Democratic Republic’s Minister of Industry and Commerce, Khemmani Pholsena. Joining the dialogue will be the Brazil’s Secretary of Foreign Trade, Daniel Godinho; Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Commissioner for Industry and Private Sector Promotion, Kalilou Traoré; and former ITC Executive Directors Patricia Francis and J.-Denis Bélisle. The Economics and Finance Editor of Le Temps, Fréderic Lelièvre, will serve as moderator.

A commemorative publication, 50 Years of Unlocking SME Competitiveness: Lessons for the Future, will be also launched on 10 June featuring contributions from policy makers and the business community. WTO Deputy Director-General Yonov Frederick Agah and the Development Bank of Latin America’s Director for Europe, Guillermo Fernandez de Soto will address the audience. Other speakers include the principal author of the publication, Bernard Hoekman, Director of Global Economics at the European University Institute, Florence, Italy; Ambassador Minelik Alemu Getahun of the Permanent Mission of Ethiopia to the UN Office in Geneva; and Mark Gottfredson, Partner, Bain & Co.

For more information and a detailed programme, see the page of the ITC 50th anniversary event.