World Trade Centre Mumbai and All India Association of Industries today announced their annual flagship event – Global Economic Summit  (GES 2018) on ‘GLOBAL VALUE CHAINS (GVCs) : Accelerating MSME Growth, Development and Sustainability’. Supported by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry & Ministry of Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises, Government of India and Foreign Trade Association,  GES 2018 will be held from February 22 to 24, 2018 at World Trade Centre, Mumbai. The exceptional three-day Summit aims to feature intellectually stimulating Conferences, Exhibitions, Business-to-Business Meetings, Awards and Field Visits.

Mr. Suresh Prabhu, Hon’ble Minister of Commerce & Industry, Government of India has consented to address the Summit. Other eminent speakers include Mr. Sebastian Saez, Lead Economist – Trade & Competitiveness, World Bank Group; Dr. Robert Koopman, Chief Economist and Director of the Economic Research and Statistics Division, World Trade Organization; Mr. Nadim Ahmad, Head of Trade and Competitiveness Statistics Division, Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD); Mr. Hugo Beteta, Subregional Director, ECLAC-Mexico, The Economic Commission for Latin America; Mr. Andrew Crosby, Managing Director, International Centre for Trade and Sustainable Development and Prof. Yang Jun, School of International Trade and Economics, University of International Business and Economics in Beijing, China.

More than 500 business delegates from India and overseas will participate in the Summit to explore potential partners in the value chain for their products and services and discuss challenges and policy remedies for integrating MSMEs in the GVCs. Focus sectors of the Summit includes Auto and Auto Components, Energy and Environment, Hospitality, Chemicals and Pharmaceuticals, Construction and Infrastructure, Education and Vocational Training, Electrical and Electronics, Gems, Jewellery, Information and Communication Technology, Life Science and Biotechnology, Mechanical and Metallurgical, Textile and Leather along with Supply Chain and Logistics.

Key issues to be discussed in GES 2018 are:

• Global Value Chains: Enabler of Sustainable Trade
• National and Multilateral Approaches to Foster GVCs
• Building MSME Competitiveness Through Value Chain Integration
• GVCs: Adaptation of New Technologies
• GVC Case Study Presentations (Agriculture, Manufacturing and Service Sectors)

Inviting participation and collaboration from the Enterprises, SME’s & MSME’s from Middle East and Africa (MENA Region), forthcoming Global Economic Summit will deliberate on the opportunities and challenges for MSMEs to enhance their participation in GVCs. The Summit will examine the effects of the entire process of producing goods from raw materials to finished products at competitive costs and quality. Providing opportunities for the MSMEs to extend beyond local boundaries by highlighting the global market trends, while integrating into the value chains shall be one of the primary objectives of the 7^th Global Economic Summit.

MENA countries contribute nearly one quarter of India’s total foreign trade. Making the summit an excellent opportunity for the Business Leaders / Policy Makers / Retail Chains / Financial Institutes and Supply Chain and Logistics companies from Middle East and North Africa (MENA), the Summit will facilitate trade and business opportunities with potential partners. Petroleum products, financial services, agriculture commodities, real estate and construction are the dominant sectors in the bilateral economic partnership of MENA and India.