"It gives me great pleasure to return to Viet Nam and to welcome
you to the launch of ITC's E-Trade Bridge Programme for SMEs. We
are very pleased to be working once again with VIETRADE as our
national partner for this e-trade bridge kick-off meeting.
We have here in this room some of the best talent in Viet Nam in
the two fields of electronic commerce and trade development,
representing both the private and public sectors. Our goal over the
next two days will be to identify priority national action points
to improve the ability of Vietnamese SMEs to compete in world
markets.
I do not need to preach to you today about the digital divide. A
small task force has prepared a report over the last few weeks
which provides an excellent backdrop against which to understand
the reality of the information "haves" and "have-nots" in Viet Nam.
The ITC e-trade bridge programme is not preoccupied with the divide
but with solutions to bridge it.
ITC's presence here today is not an accident. It is part of our
own journey on the "e-trade SuperHighway". Three years ago, ITC
recognized that the growth of the Internet was fundamentally
changing the way business is done. Our clients in developing
countries were asking us what the Internet was and how to take
advantage of it.
To answer their question we began a year-long consultation with
partners, donors, trade support institutions, Internet experts and
practitioners from developing countries. We later experimented with
various pilot projects:
• The first online coffee auction was conducted with Brazilian
speciality coffee growers.
• A publication, Secrets of E-Commerce, was produced addressing
the 100 most commonly asked questions about the Internet for SMEs.
This publication is presently being adapted to Viet Nam's
circumstances.
• Business round tables have been held to develop strategies for
the information and communications technology sectors in transition
economies.
This development phase brought us to the exciting stage we have
reached today: the ITC strategy in which A stands for awareness
raising, B for building knowledge and C for creating competence.
This is already beginning to bring concrete results.
The landscape of international trade is changing very fast as a
result of new technology. There are new ways of doing old business
(selling coffee and green beans), entirely new business sectors
emerging and new virtual marketplaces being driven by information,
not physical market bazaars.
At ITC, we talk about and believe in the concept of e-trade; the
application of information and communication to the conduct of
trade across national borders. Putting the "e" in a national trade
development programme is not simply about the "e". Technology is
necessary but not sufficient. Technology facilitates trade and
international competitiveness but is not an end in itself. In the
last analysis, business people do the exporting and importing, not
countries. That's why ITC's e-trade bridge programme focuses on the
needs of SME entrepreneurs.
The countries which are succeeding in this new economy have
taken stock of their strengths and weaknesses and developed
solutions to meet this new challenge.
As you continue your deliberations over the next two days, I
would like you to think about the following questions to which we
should come back at the end of the session:
• What are the assets and liabilities of Viet Nam's e-trade
"business"? (for example, in which sectors and how can you harness
the e-trade potential?)
• Where are your investments likely to lead to the greatest
return for business and therefore for the Vietnamese economy? What
are your current investments? Future investments?
• What kind of dividends can you expect from your investment and
when?
Information is power and the information economy is now entering
a new level of sophistication. Let us grasp this opportunity and
not be frightened by it. Let Viet Nam conduct old business in new
ways and tackle entirely new businesses born with the new economy.
ITC is delighted to be your coach for this e-trade bridge kick-off
meeting and hopes to be given the opportunity to accompany you
further, if it is your desire. Remember, the e-trade opportunity
lies just a few clicks away. Good luck to all."