The Commonwealth Secretariat invited a group of 30 public and private sector delegates from 16 Commonwealth countries to the Far East in May to learn about the 'Singapore success story' in relation to achieving export competitiveness.
The purpose was to help delegates develop a vision on how to progress their National Export Strategies, many of which had been prepared under Commonwealth Secretariat funding and direction.
Crown Agents' Senior Advisor, Customs & Trade Facilitation, Jon Walden was invited to present to the workshop and to facilitate some of the sessions. The intention was that, rather than simply creating aspirations, the workshop would assist delegates in realising those aspirations by considering a pragmatic approach to implementation.
Following the success of the event, Commonwealth Secretariat launched a programme of three further Regional Workshops to develop the theme on a local basis. The objectives of these workshops are:
- To share country experiences in implementing export competitiveness strategies with a view to addressing common regional issues as well country specific impediments to competitiveness.
- To explore new approaches to export competitiveness strategies necessary to meet the emerging challenges in many developing countries.
The first of these was held in Johannesburg, covering the South African Development Community region, in June and, again, Jon Walden presented and facilitated sessions.