12th World Trade Promotion Organizations Conference
25 - 26 October
Pierre Mendès France Conference Centre, Bercy, Paris
Hosted by Business France in partnership with ITC

 

 Trade and Investment Ecosystems: Delivering for Growth

 

The 12th edition of the World Trade Promotion Organisations Conference and Awards was held in Paris from 25 – 26 October, co-hosted by Business France. This conference continues to be a unique forum for TIPOs to come together to share experiences and exchange ideas about what works for trade and investment promotion today, and what challenges they are likely to face tomorrow.

The high level of participation - 95 countries were represented by more than 125 different institutions, with 54 represented by the Chair or CEO – attests to the value TIPOs place on this event.

As well as a number of side meetings before and during the conference, there was a rich programme of provocative keynote speeches, panel discussions by CEOs and experts and, technical sessions, all designed to explore the conference theme of Trade And Investment Ecosystems: Delivering for Growth. Three major trends were identified, creating threats and opportunities for TIPOs in a rapidly changing world:

• The transition from a focus on export growth, to a broader objective for inclusive economic growth
• The dis-intermediation effect of platforms, and the new opportunity for TIPOs to be trustbuilders
• And the shift from playing solo, to becoming a chef d’orchestre, ensuring that all the actors in the ecosystem play in harmony, from the same musical score.

There was a recognition of the imperative for TIPOs to become a connecting force, delivering seamless excellence to exporter and investors, with a focus on building partnerships, adopting new business models, measuring and reporting on outcomes and impact, and investing in skills for the digital age.

ITC contributed to building these ecosystems of excellence by signing agreements with CCPIT (China) and PROCOMER (Costa Rica). We facilitated meetings with regional groupings from Arab countries and from Africa.

As part of the conference, the TIPO awards ceremony celebrated the quality of service innovation from Qatar, Ghana and Nigeria. The jury also recognised the good work of Korea, Switzerland and Egypt. Mongolia received a special award from the Executive Director for a programme to reduce poverty in marginalised regions.

The conference ended with the announcement of Ghana as the host for 2020.

CONFERENCE AND AWARDS PHOTOS
CONFERENCE AND AWARDS VIDEOS