Recent disruptions of supply chains have exposed fragilities in the current trading system and brought to light the importance of resilience and transparency in global trade.  

UNECE and other international organizations play a crucial role in supporting countries (including both the public and private sector) to prepare for future economic uncertainties. UNECE’s convening power, providing a platform for exchange on trade facilitation and best practices in cross-border trade, together with the organization’s normative and technical assistance work streams are examples in point.  

Building resilience will be at the core of UNECE forthcoming 38th UN/CEFACT Forum, where participants will deep-dive into standards and recommendations for trade facilitation and e-business and look ahead towards emerging trends in trade, finance, e-business as well as resilience and sustainability. 

From 16 to 20 May 2022, international experts from the public and private sector will come together to hold detailed discussions a wide variety of issues. To name a few, the sessions will discuss digital trust and security and emerging technologies in trade facilitation, the efficiency of supply chain management, and the role of international standards in supply chain disruptions. The Forum will furthermore touch upon single window assessment methodologies, support to National Trade Facilitation Bodies and specific country cases (e.g. Georgia, Kyrgyz Republic).  

Over the course of five days, participants can virtually join the 19 interactive roundtables, webinars, domain meetings and panel discussions via Webex and/or join two hybrid events in the Palais de Nations or via Zoom. New this year are the “lunch & learn” sessions that illustrate the five futures of currency and the upcoming challenges of open banking. Interested to learn more? 

The programme and registration details are available on the UNECE website: https://unece.org/trade/cefact/38th-uncefact-forum.