Press releases

World Export Development Forum to be held in Jakarta, will highlight linking growth markets

6 June 2012
ITC News

The International Trade Centre (ITC) and the Government of Indonesia have announced that they will host the World Export Development Forum (WEDF) in Jakarta on 15-17 October 2012 under the theme ‘Linking Growth Markets: New dynamics in global trade.’

WEDF, ITC’s flagship event, will this year focus on the opportunities for linking growth markets through interregional trade between the ASEAN region, Latin America and Africa, and the potential for this process to contribute to trade-led inclusive sustainable development.

The recent financial crisis has resulted in global growth dropping from 2.7% in 2011 to a projected 2.5% for 2012. ‘Some markets, however, are demonstrating considerable resilience in the downturn,’ said Ms. Patricia R. Francis, Executive Director of ITC. ‘The private sector is now focusing more attention on these growth markets in Asia and Latin America, seeking new opportunities to complement sluggish growth in more mature markets. There are opportunities to be discovered for all regions, and we will showcase and discuss successful examples in very practical ways at WEDF.’

‘ITC is pleased to have the Indonesian Government as hosts this year,’ said Ms. Francis. ‘As one of the fastest growing markets in the world, Indonesia sets an example for other economies. Participants can look forward to hearing what has worked for Indonesia’s trade expansion, as well as that of other growth markets around the world.’

‘The Ministry of Trade of the Republic of Indonesia is honored to be hosting WEDF 2012, and is fully committed to its success. We are also committed to encouraging the participants toward further economic cooperation for more positive economic growth through WEDF 2012,” said Mr. Gusmardi Bustami, Director General of National Export Development, Ministry of Trade of the Republic of Indonesia.

WEDF, an annual event of ITC, brings together 250-300 practitioners and policymakers to explore new ways of increasing export competitiveness of developing and least developed countries. This year, businesspeople, representatives of governments and trade support institutions, academia and international organizations will work together to identify opportunities to establish new supply chains and reach tangible outputs, including linking businesses across and between regions.

Among the topics to be discussed:

  • New dynamics in ASEAN-Africa and Latin America-Africa trade
  • Hard and soft infrastructure necessary to facilitate successful interregional trade
  • Improving commodity supply chains for great global food security
  • Financing trade between growth markets



Information on topics and programme will be made available at http://www.intracen.org/trade-support/wedf


ITC is the joint agency of WTO and the United Nations and is devoted to helping small and medium enterprises in developing countries become more competitive in global markets and thus to speed up sustainable economic development and contribute to the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals. 

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