Southern Africa focuses on competitiveness at Trade Week.

ITC research has shown that what sets successful exporting countries apart is a joint public-private strategy to build and keep competitive advantage. To this end, business and government leaders from 14 Southern African Development Community (SADC) countries came together for a "Trade Week" in Johannesburg (November 2002).

If trade is an engine for development, how can developing countries get on board? Market access is a critical entry point. Lesotho, for example, earned some US$ 200 million in exports under the African Growth and Opportunities Act (AGOA) in 2001. But market access is only a foot in the door. At heart, sustained export growth is based on competitiveness.

Market access is not enough

"Market access alone is not enough," says J. Denis Belisle, ITC Executive Director. "Southern African firms need to be competitive to win at the export game. A key to competitiveness is partnership between business and government."

The Trade Week featured a Regional Executive Forum on the theme of "Managing competitive Advantage". It also featured a competitiveness Tools Fair, training seminars and the launch of new e-trade partnerships. All the events were designed to raise the competitive advantage of southern African firms and countries.

The Regional Executive Forum debate was opened by David Syz, State Secretary of the Secretariat for Economic Affairs, Switzerland (seco), with J. Denis Belisle and Lindiwe Hendricks, Deputy Minister of South Africa's Department of Trade and Industry. ITC, seco and the Department of Trade and Industry co-hosted the discussion, looking at busness alliances, national branding, value chains and new ways to look at competitiveness.

The debate was modelled on the annual Executive Forum debate that takes place in Montreux, Switzerland, bringing together country teams from all continents. The Executive Forum has acquired a strong reputation among developing countries for innovative yet practical solutions, as well as networking opportunities.

Regional focus

Last year, ITC and seco organized the first Regional Executive Forum in Nairobi, Kenya. The aim is to extend impact, by exploring global themes in a regional context. "Participants tell me that the Executive Forum in Montreux has changed their approach to national...