Chambers step up help to members on world markets
 |
| Chambers of commerce from all over the world will meet in Seoul |
Seoul, 1 June 2001 - Chambers of commerce from every continent meet here on Thursday to step up their practical help to companies engaged in international trade, capitalizing on the international connections offered by the world chambers movement.
How the world's 10,000 chambers of commerce can improve services to members in an increasingly competitive global economy is the main theme of the 2nd World Chambers Congress in the Korean capital.
Building on the long-established ATA Carnet system for the temporary import of goods, chamber experts want, for example, to ensure that certificates of origin submitted to customs authorities meet high reliability standards - reducing the risks of rejection and delays. They propose to set up an international "quality chain" for these certificates that would iron out difficulties with the customs authorities of importing countries.
IBCC Executive Manager Anthony Parkes said that a chamber of commerce in the importing country would use its local knowledge and contacts to overcome problems at the request of another chamber in the chain that had issued a certificate for one of its members.
More than 1,000 delegates from 250 of the world's leading chambers of commerce are attending the two-day congress, co-hosted by the International Chamber of Commerce and the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry. The event's organizers on behalf of ICC are the International Bureau of Chambers of Commerce, the ICC division whose task is to further international cooperation among chambers worldwide.
Avijit Mazumdar, the Indian businessman who chairs IBCC, said: "We aim to provide a focal point where chamber executives can meet, share and learn from each other so as to enhance the activities of their respective chambers of commerce."
Mr Mazumdar added: "The great strength of every chamber of commerce is that it is part of a global network. Our task in Seoul is to look closely at ways in which we can better exploit that unique asset to the benefit of chamber member companies."
Chambers attending the first world congress in Marseille, Fra
nce, in October 1999, vowed to make their global network the means by which their members can gain access to their collective expertise and connections. Said Mr Parkes: "With the opportunities of globalization on the minds of every business executive, chambers of commerce today are really coming into their own. This is a movement whose time has come."
A key tool for the network is already in business. ICC, in collaboration with the Paris Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Group of 77 Chambers of Commerce, has established the World Chambers Network, an electronic database on the internet into which chambers and their member companies feed information about products and business opportunities.
The congress in Seoul is designed to provide the participants, more than half of wAhom are from East Asia, with insights that will improve chambers' effectiveness as facilitators of international trade and help them to generate income.
Themes include chamber structure, the impact of globalization, chambers in developing countries and training for chamber officials. Plenary sessions will cover IT and e-business for chambers, working with small and medium-sized enterprises, and financing issues for chambers.
Official Congress Website
Sign up for the Congress
Click here to send a mail