Is Your Trade Support Network Working?
(2001)

The first Executive Forum on National Export Strategies took place in September 1999. It was an innovative experiment in South-South technical cooperation. We gathered together leading public sector strategy-makers and business leaders from developing and transition economies for a debate on the management of export promotion and its contribution to national development. But we wanted to go further than simply exchanging views. Our objective was to develop best practice guidelines for designing and managing national export strategy.

It has been a successful experiment. The Executive Forum has become more than just an annual consultation. With the support of our partner, the Swiss Secretariat for Economic Affairs (seco), the Executive Forum has developed into a global network of national strategy-makers and our yearly gathering in the Lake Geneva area has become a key meeting point where new ideas interplay with practical experience.

In 2000, we concentrated on the emerging ‘e’ dimension of the international marketplace and reviewed the strategic implications of ‘Export Development in the Digital Economy’.

The focus of Executive Forum 2001 in Montreux was strategy implementation. The three-day debate, and associated e-discussions organized during the course of the year, dealt with the question ‘Is your trade support network working?’ We looked at best practice from the standpoint of:

• WHERE should national trade support networks focus their efforts?

• HOW can they satisfy the priority needs of the business community?

• WHAT tools should they use to assess their performance?

On some points there was consensus. On others, there was a significant divergence of opinion and practice. It was generally agreed, however, that managing an effective trade support network is a complex exercise. It requires a combination of art and science, for – as the participants emphasized – no one size fits all. But a foundation for best practice does exist. National trade support networks can work – and, in several instances, they do. In many other cases, they do not. Why?

In this publication, we examine several of the factors for success that were raised during the Montreux meeting and in online discussions. We have tried to capture the flavour of the debate and to present the various points made in a manner that will continue to stimulate thinking and generate ideas.

Your responses will tell us whether we have achieved this objective.

I look forward to hearing from you.

J. Denis Bélisle Executive Director International Trade Centre