The 23rd Asian Trade Promotion Forum (ATPF) was held in Seoul, Korea from 11 to 14 May. The Forum was organised by the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA) and attended by representatives from the trade promotion organisations (TPO) of 19 Asian economies including Australia, Bangladesh, China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Macao, Malaysia, Mongolia, New Zealand, Pakistan, Philippine, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam. Representatives from the TPOs in Cambodia, Dubai, Iran, Kazakhstan and Kuwait also particpated in the meeting as observers. The annual meeting was attended by Mr. Yu Ping, Vice Chairman of China Council for the Promotion of International Trade, Mr. Fred Lam, Executive Director of Hong Kong Trade Development Council, Mr. Jackson Chang, President of Macao Trade and Investment Promotion Institute and Mr. Wen-Yea Wu, Deputy Chairman of Taipei World Trade Centre.
The 23rd ATPF was chaired by the CEO of KOTRA, Dr. Hwan-Eik Cho, with the theme of One Asia, the Future of a New Era. Participating TPO members gave presentations under this theme and conducted discussions on two subjects, namely (1) Rising Asian Green Industry and Co-operation and (2) TPO’s New Role in the Rising Asian Era.
Mr. Jackson Chang gave a presentation on One Asia, the Future of a New Era – Insights into Emerging Asian Economy and Macao’s Opportunities at the Forum. He said that Asia has weathered the global economic downturn better than other regions and the Asian countries have implemented many counter-crisis measures which helped the economy to achieve steady recovery. Meanwhile, Macao is progressing to a new stage in regional co-operation. “The Outline of the Plan for the Reform and Development of the Pearl River Delta” released by the National Development and Reform Committee (NDRC) at the beginning of 2009 has identified Macao as an international tourism and leisure destination. It has further strengthened closer co-operation between Guangdong and Macao and provided new room for Macao’s economic development. In addition, the General Plan for the Development of Hengqin, the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge and the Guangzhou-Zhuhai Intercity Mass Rapid Transit have also brought new development opportunities to the city. All of these will further intensify the liaison between Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao and contribute to the further development of the region. Mr. Chang also invited all ATPF members to participate in the 15th Macao International Trade and Investment Fair (MIF). He emphasized that all TPOs should make the best use of the opportunities arise from regional co-operation and actively join in the economic co-operation and development of the Asian region .
During the meeting, ATPF has endorsed the Trade Promotion Department of Cambodia as a new member of the ATPF. The meeting ended on 14 May and the 24th ATPF Annual Meeting will be held in Taipei next year and hosted by the Taipei World Trade Centre.
The Asia Project Plaza, 4th ATPF Joint Exhibition and Asia Green Forum were organised concurrently with the 23rd ATPF annual meeting. The 4th ATPF Joint Exhibition was held in conjunction with the “International Food Industry Exhibition, Seoul 2010” (IFIES 2010). IFIES, hosted by KOTRA, KFIA, Allworld Exhibitions and KEM, has been organised for 28 years. With active participation and support of many local and overseas food industry enterprieses, the event has become the best, the largest as well as the most professional exhibition in Korea. Enjoy the Food, Experience the Foodtech! is the slogan of this year’s IFIES. The exhibition was held at the Korea International Exhibition Centre, covering an exhibition area of 53,541 square metres with over 2,000 exhibition booths. IPIM has also set up a Macao Pavilion to promote Macao’s investment and business environment and invited a Macao enterprise, the Pou Chi Lam Restaurant, to promote its product to overseasbuyers.
ATPF was founded by the Japan External Trade Organisation in 1987, with 22 TPO members in various Asian countries. It aims to enhance communications and regional co-operation between its trade promotion members. IPIM is the member of ATPF since 1999 and has organised the 19th ATPF meeting in 2006.
To further strengthen co-operation and communication among the TPO members, the ATPF Annual Meeting, Capacity Initiative Building Programme and the ATPF Joint Exhibition are organised by the APTF member country/region in rotation every year. CCPIT and IPIM co-organised the Capacity Initiative Building Programme last year to provide training for TPO members and share experiences in trade promotion. Besides, IPIM has also participated in the 3rd ATPF Joint Exhibition of the International Gift Fair in Tokyo in 2008.
