Never before have the objectives of the international community and the business world been so aligned. Through the UN Global Compact, common goals, such as building markets, combating corruption, safeguarding the environment and ensuring social inclusion, have resulted in unprecedented partnerships and openness among business, government, civil society, labour and the United Nations. Executive Director of the UN Global Compact, Georg Kell outlines the importance of the public and private sectors working together
for a sustainable future. 

The private sector has an important role to play in the effective development and implementation of trade facilitation strategies beyond investment alone. Public–private partnerships (PPPs) in trade facilitation are valuable in identifying the needs of government and traders, improving transparency and information flows, and promoting viable and sustainable trade facilitation solutions. Current success stories prove that the focus needs to be on an integrated strategy that does not assume a “one-size-fits-all” approach.

The private sector has never played a greater or more influential role in international economic development than it does today. While 20 years ago the public sector delivered the majority of foreign assistance, today we are faced with a very different reality. Individual remittances, civil society organizations and business developers play an instrumental and important role in how aid models function.

With enterprises ranging from drip-irrigation companies in India and Pakistan to a major manufacturer of malaria-preventing bed nets in Tanzania and women’s hospitals and ambulance services in India, Acumen’s US$ 40 million portfolio has created more than 22,000 jobs and had a positive impact on more than 30 million people in developing countries.

Through initiatives such as the Global Alliance for Cultural Diversity and the Creative Cities Network, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has highlighted the importance of fostering public–private partnerships (PPPs) as a model for making cultural and creative industries the drivers of economic growth.

In the private sector, corporate social responsibility (CSR) programmes are no longer an optional luxury but are becoming an integral part of “good” corporate governance and strategy. There is also a growing recognition and acceptance that collaborative public–private partnerships (PPPs) can deliver mutually desired outcomes. But how to strike a good deal?

In recent decades a broad range of non-state actors ranging from multinational firms to non-governmental organizations (NGOs) have become key players in development finance alongside more traditional players such as official aid agencies and multilateral institutions. More recently, they have been joined by a host of interested parties including social entrepreneurs, former politicians and celebrities, who have used their profile to raise awareness and leverage resources for international aid in developing countries.

The trend towards private philanthropic foundations has seen some of the world’s most powerful past and present leaders lending business and political clout to public-private partnerships for international development.

Designed to help businesses boost trade competitiveness– and to inspire entrepreneurship– these nine practical guides are targeted at small firms in developing countries and trade support institutions that work with them.

The 8th version of the TPO Network World Conference and Awards will be hosted by ProMexico in Mexico City, Mexico on 14–15 October 2010. The biennial conference will bring together global leaders of trade promotion organizations (TPOs) and other major trade support institutions (TSIs) to discuss their common concerns and recognize TPOs that excel in their export development practices.