Coming Up: Bold Solutions for Resilience and Recovery

As the world addresses a global pandemic, economic shocks and climate crises, uncertainty and risk abound. National trade promotion organizations have an important role in taking their countries towards a more sustainable future. The International Trade Centre and the Ghana Export Promotion Authority, co-hosts of this event, welcome leaders to discuss trends and global challenges and share their own best initiatives to build sustainable trade.

See more about the event and register for the conference here.

Here are some highlights from the programme:

• The President of Ghana, His Excellency Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo will provide the keynote address, including a focus on the importance of non-traditional exports.
• The special guest is Sir Partha Dasgupta, Professor Emeritus at Cambridge University, who will share his views on integrating natural resource accounting in Gross Domestic Product – and host a unique and extensive Q&A session.
• Business insights into how trade promotion organizations can best support business is a feature of a special discussion with Tom Walsh, CEO of the renewable energy technologies company Renetech and ITC Executive Director Pamela Coke-Hamilton.
• Peter Green, the guest speaker of the second day and an expert on agile workplaces, will help these organizations transform the discussions into practice.

Most of the event, however, features the insights from trade promotion leaders from all world regions.  Their discussions cover topics ranging from global risk assessments to making trade sustainable. As the event is in the city that hosts the new African Continental Free Trade Area secretariat, it also offers the latest in trade and investment in the African region. 

Awards for trade initiatives that are digital, sustainable and partnership-oriented are a highlight of the event.

This year’s side events include a public-private dialogue workshop for national export strategy on 16 May, and a meeting of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) TPO Network on 19 and 20 May.

The conference was created in 1996 and is hosted by a different national trade promotion organization every two years.