The conference looked at realities, opportunities and best
practices for e-commerce. Participants assessed how countries can
build competence in e-commerce, and use it as a springboard to
develop exports. The conference identified best practices on
developing
e-trade export strategies for trade development professionals
and businesses. Participants highlighted that:
• E-commerce is changing how international transactions are
initiated and managed. It is also reshaping relationships between
buyers and sellers and between consumers and producers.
• E-commerce is redefining the roles of the public and private
sectors in developing e-trade capability. In some areas, the
private sector must take the lead. Yet public-sector organizations
need to take a stronger role in developing e-competency among
enterprises.
• The quality of public-private sector partnerships, and their
ability to take concerted action, will distinguish winners from
losers in the digital economy.
Bringing Montreux to a wider audience
The Executive Forum was more than a three-day event. It was a
process designed to help trade support institutions, enterprises
and ITC understand e-trade realities, opportunities and best
practices for developing and transition economies, in order to
design appropriate e-trade development strategies. The process
included:
• July brainstorming event. Roughly 20 e-commerce experts, from
developed and developing countries, joined with ITC staff to
review
e-trade in developing countries, in preparation for the Montreux
event.
• E-mail discussion fora. ITC organized three worldwide e-mail
discussion fora - before, during and following Montreux. This
enabled some 600 participants from 85 countries to join the
debate.
• ITC Executive Forum web site
(http://www.intracen.org/execforum). Montreux participants posted
background papers on national e-trade perspectives; ITC conducted
interviews and provided journalistic highlights of the July
brainstorming event; and the e-mail discussion fora were posted,
for easy consultation and reference.
• WTO briefing session. ITC presented the Montreux results to
WTO delegates at a special briefing session (Geneva, October 2000).
Private-sector speakers joined WTO Director General Mike Moore and
ITC Executive Director J. Denis Bélisle to discuss the implications
of e-commerce for developing countries. The speakers represented
IBM, Intel, Microsoft, Hewlett Packard, Africa On-line, Ecuador
Electronic Commerce Corporation and the Gujarat Co-operative Milk
Marketing Federation.
• Publications. Highlights are featured in a forthcoming book.
In addition, two issues of Trade Forum
magazine (Issue 3/2000 and forthcoming Issue 1/2001) cover the
process. The next issue will also present key elements of ITC's
e-trade strategy for developing countries, which was developed as
an outcome of the Executive Forum process.
For more information, contact Brian Barclay, coordinator of
the Executive Forum, at barclay@intracen.org