DCCI organizes the 6th World Conference of Trade Promotion Organizations next November

The conference, which will be hosted at Al Bustan Rotana Hotel in Dubai, will be attended by world top experts in trade promotional affairs where they will meet and exchange ideas to develop new options for facing future challenges.

The announcement was made during a press conference which the DCCI yesterday held and was attended by Abdul Rahman Ghanem Al Mutaiwee, Director General of the DCCI, Philip A.W. Williams, Senior Adviser on Trade Support Institutions at the ITC, as well as Hamad Buamim, Deputy Director General of the DCCI, Directors, and a number of media and local newspapers representatives.

Al Mutaiwee told the press that His Excellency Obaid Humaid Al Tayer, Chairman of the DCCI Board of Directors, Patricia Francis, Executive Director of ITC, will attend the conference which is held once every two years. The conference will also attract heads and representatives of more than 133 trade promotion organizations worldwide, in addition to a large number of CEOs of companies, heads of Dubai government departments, representatives of foreign trade centers in Dubai, representatives of GCC, Arab and foreign chambers of commerce, Federation of the UAE Chambers of Commerce, as well as representatives of foreign-Arab chambers of commerce.

He pointed out that the DCCI succeeded in getting the approval of the ITC to host and organize the 6th World Conference of TPOs this year during the DCCI participation in the fifth session of the same conference which was held in Malta in 2004. Accordingly, the DCCI formed an internal committee to follow up the issues related to the organization of the conference and to make sure it fulfills its objectives in considering the future of international trade and economic relations and coming up with an adequate form that all TPOs should follow while facing future challenges.

Al Mutaiwee said the conference aims at discussing issues related to the performance of TPOs in their delivery of essential trade support services and efforts done to overcome obstacles. The conference will also examine the international trade environment, the emergence of opportunities for benchmarking through strong regional TPO networks, the relative values of trade and investment promotion and how the delivery of TPO services is changing to meet the requirements of client enterprises.

"The World Conference of TPOs in Global Trade has chosen Dubai to hold its 6th session to enable the participants experience an outstanding model of enormous economic development in Dubai which has become an international business hub that represents one of the world's fastest growing economies thanks to its entrepreneurial leadership and unique business environment that enables targeted local and foreign investment," said Al Mutaiwee.

Philip Williams, Senior Adviser on Trade Support Institutions in the ITC, pointed out that the conference theme about the opportunities and challenges facing TPOs in global trade represents the current position of the TPOs in the multilateral trading system, increasingly high energy costs and a changing balance of the world economic power.

"TPOs must understand the consequences of these challenges and help their client enterprises to identify and develop strategies for capitalizing on the real opportunities that exist and those that will arise in the future," Williams said. 'The importance of the conference is that it will be held in Dubai which is an outstanding example of the use of limited natural resources in an innovative and creative manner to ensure rapid and sustainable economic development,' he added.

On the sideline of the conference, a gala event will be held to distribute the second World TPO Awards to the winning TPOs as its success will continue to depend on their ability to recognize and seize opportunities and to respond appropriately to challenges, confronting them in the global trading environment.

The DCCI's director general, who will be among the jury committee, pointed out that around 26 TPOs from different countries have applied for the second World TPO Awards so far. He noted that the awards gala event aimed at highlighting and honoring the success and achievements of the winning TPOs and urging them to interact with the best TOPs and ensuring more creative initiatives.

The second World TPO Awards will be distributed to the winners according to 6 categories that include one award for the best TPO from least developed country (LDC), one award for the best TPO in a small country, three awards for the best TPO from a developing country, one award for the best TPO from a country of transitional economy, one award for the best TPO from a developed country, and one award of 'The Best of the Best TPO' chosen from amongst the winners in the other five categories.

A number of lectures, presentations and workshops will be conducted by more than 56 speakers from all over the world during the conference. An ITC Tool Fair is also scheduled to be held during the conference which will include all the tools used by TPOs to facilitate its promotional tasks among operating sectors. The Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing will arrange a city tour for the participants to see Dubai's tourist and economic monuments.