Agenda from 15 June 2014
Upcoming ITC events
15-17 September | ITC in cooperation with Rwanda Development Board hosts the World Export Development Forum (WEDF) and Women Vendors Exhibition and Forum (WVEF), Kigali, Rwanda |
4-5 November | ITC in cooperation with Dubai Export hosts 10th Trade Promotion Organization (TPO) Network World Conference, Dubai, United Arab Emirates |
14-15 June | Commemorative Summit on the 50th Anniversary of the Group of 77, Santa Cruz, Bolivia |
16 June | 50th Anniversary of United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), Geneva |
20 June | The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) marks World Refugee Day |
13-15 July | Y20 - Youth summit of the G20, Brisbane, Australia |
16 July | Italy takes over the presidency of the European Union. |
17-18 July | B20 Summit, Brisbane, Australia |
19 July | G20 Ministerial meeting, Sydney, Australia |
5-6 August | United States-Africa Leaders’ Summit, Washington, DC, United States |
30-31 August | Small Island Development States (SIDS) Business Forum/Private Sector Forum, Apia, Samoa |
1-4 September | Third SIDS Conference, Apia, Samoa |
5 September | Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Small and Medium Enterprises Ministers Meeting (SMEMM), Nanjing, China |
5-6 September | Russian G20 Leaders Summit, St Petersburg, Russian Federation |
16 September | United Nations General Assembly meeting, New York City, United States |
23 September | United Nations Private Sector Forum (Global Compact), New York City, United States |
28 September | World Economic Forum on the Middle East, North Africa and Eurasia, Istanbul, Turkey |
1-3 October | World Trade Organization (WTO) Public Forum 'Why trade matters to everyone’, Geneva, Switzerland |
13 October | UNCTAD hosts the World Investment Forum 2014: Investing in sustainable development, Geneva, Switzerland |
25-26 October | ICC International Conference on Global Economic Recovery: Asian Perspective, Bangladesh National Committee of the International Chamber of Commerce, Dhaka, Bangladesh |
4-6 November | World Economic Forum on India, New Delhi, India |
9-11 November | The Summit on the Global Agenda, Dubai, United Arab Emirates |
15-16 November | G20 Leaders Summit, Brisbane, Australia |
The urgent need to create trade and employment opportunities by increasing the competitiveness of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) will be at the core of the discussions between global thinkers, business leaders and practitioners at the 14th World Export Development Forum (WEDF), to be held in Kigali, Rwanda, from 16-17 September 2014.
ITC’s flagship event will bring together over 400 representatives of governments, the private sector and trade support institutions from around the world to contribute to the global debate on ways to achieve trade-led inclusive sustainable development through entrepreneurship, trade competitiveness of SMEs, employment and economic growth. This year, WEDF will be held in conjunction with ITC’s Women Vendors Exhibition and Forum, which matches women vendors with international buyers.
For further information, please visit: www.intracen.org/itc/events/world-export-development-forum/
Second UN Conference on LLDCs to take place in NovemberUnited Nations Under Secretary-General Gyan Chandra Acharya has welcomed the adoption of a resolution calling for the active participation of all Member States in the Second UN Conference on Landlocked Developing Countries (LLDC), set to take place on 3-5 November in Vienna, Austria.
‘The Second LLDC conference is expected to deliver an outcome document that is forward looking, comprehensive and focused. I strongly urge all Member States and stakeholders to actively and meaningfully engage in the process,’ said Acharya, the UN High Representative for the Least Developed Countries, Landlocked Developing Countries and Small Island Developing States.
On 22 April, the UN General Assembly adopted the resolution on convening the conference, as well as its preparatory meetings.
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon last year appointed Mr. Acharya as Secretary-General of the conference, and the office he heads up is the UN system-wide focal point for the conference preparations.
The human story behind tradeThe WTO’s 2014 Public Forum will be held in Geneva on 1-3 October under the theme of ‘Why trade matters to everyone’, aimed at telling the human story behind trade. It will show the connections between trade and people’s daily lives, and demonstrate how trade impacts on and improves the lives of citizens around the globe. In addition to a focus on trade and jobs, trade and consumers, and trade and Africa, the Forum will also discuss completion of the Doha Round.
2014 TPO Network Awards to recognize excellence in export development initiativesThe International Trade Centre (ITC) launched the call for entries for the 2014 Trade Promotion Organizations (TPOs) Network Awards on 17 March. This year's awards will recognize excellence in TPO processes, and all nationally recognized TPOs are eligible to compete.
'Businesses across the world rely on trade promotion organizations to succeed in exporting their products,' said ITC Executive Director Arancha González. 'For exporters to become competitive in regional and global markets, TPOs need to step up their performance to be able to provide relevant advice and support. At this year's TPO Network Awards, we will recognize TPOs' work and learn lessons from those which have achieved success for their clients.'
For further information, please visit www.tponetwork.net.