© International
Trade Centre, International Trade Forum - Issue 1/2003
Can countries create and sustain export strategies
that will foster growth and development as well as exploit
commercial opportunity? Not all countries have explicit national
export strategies, and fewer still have documented and measured
strategies that improve export earnings and increase
employment.
Making export strategies work for development is the challenge
that ITC and seco's 'Executive Forum network' has
set for itself. The 25 country teams that participated in the
annual Executive Forum global debate in Montreux, Switzerland; the
scores of experts who contributed to research and brainstorming
sessions; the hundreds of practitioners who participated in
electronic debates; and the numerous participants in regional
Executive Forum debates - all have contributed to researching,
adapting, testing and disseminating 'best practice' examples for
national export strategy.
Grouped around the theme 'Managing Competitive Advantage', the
proposals in this magazine highlight how countries can find,
sharpen and use their competitive edge. The articles examine how to
build competitiveness through a cross-sectoral approach to export
strategy. One article takes a fresh look at value chain analysis,
by applying it in the context of national export strategy, as
opposed to the more typical context of corporate supply chains.
Another article explores in-country business alliances as a
counterbalance to heavy reliance on foreign direct investment.
We've included views on how national branding can boost export
competitiveness and how to 'manage' a brand image based on a
country's national character. We've also featured tourism, an area
with great export potential for developing economies and an obvious
candidate for inclusion in a national branding exercise.
This is Trade Forum magazine's fifth
issue covering Executive Forum topics and we see two fundamental
messages that emerge each time: the first is that, for national
export strategies to have an impact, public and private sector
leaders must work together, in clearly defined roles, to shape and
implement strategies. The second message is that the use of
technology is essential. It supports innovation, facilitates
research, speeds document processing and opens new export
avenues.
In this magazine, we raise awareness of new trends, contacts and
best practice examples. Evaluations from participants, and letters
to ITC and seco attest to the value of the
Executive Forum, and to the fact that participants are applying the
results of the debates in their daily work. The Executive Forum web
site contains contact information, research papers, records of
electronic discussions and full texts of Executive Forum
publications. We encourage you to explore the ideas that interest
you in particular through this rich, network-oriented site.