UNCTAD/UNESCAP Organizes Asian and Pacific Conference on E-Commerce Strategies for Development

By 2005, one dollar in every five spent in online purchases will be Asian.

BANGKOK (United Nations Information Services) - The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) and the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP), in close collaboration with the Royal Thai Government, are jointly organizing a regional conference to explore the option of a coordinated strategy in dealing with the rapid growth of electronic commerce.

Ministers and senior officials as well as all stakeholders of the e-commerce policy-making process, from both the public and private sectors, will be among the more than 150 delegates expected to attend the UNCTAD-UNESCAP Asia-Pacific Regional Conference on E-Commerce Strategies for Development, at the United Nations Conference Centre in Bangkok, from 20 -22 November 2002.

The three-day conference will examine various policy options for the development of e-commerce in the Asia and Pacific region. Based on best practices, the conference will identify key elements of national and regional e-strategies.

During the first two days, the conference will address, through panel discussions and exchange of experiences , a series of specific e-commerce related topics of priority for the region.

The third day of the conference (22 November), Government Ministers and CEOs of leading businesses from various countries of the region will be take part in a High-level round-table debate on e-commerce strategies for development in the Asia-Pacific region, with a keynote address by Thailand's Prime Minister, H.E. Thaksin Shinawatra.

The conference is expected to adopt a Declaration on Electronic Commerce for Development, expressing the political will of governments to promote e-commerce as an instrument of development in the region.

NOTE TO EDITORS

You or your representative are cordially invited to attend the above Regional Conference and an end-of-session Press Conference by H.E. Dr. Surapong Suewonglee, Minister of Information and Communication Technology, Royal Thai Government; Mr. Kim Hak-Su, UNESCAP Executive Secretary and Mr. Rubens Ricupero, Secretary-General of UNCTAD on Friday, 22 November at 15:30 hrs in the Theatre, Ground Floor, United Nations Conference Centre, Rajadamnern Nok Avenue, Bangkok.

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