relative file path for layout
Skip to main content  Skip to search  Skip to main menu
Trade and Industry Department The Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region
Brand Hong Kong - Asia world city
MY COLOUR

 

Press Releases

HK's First Business Conference on World Trade Organization
Friday, March 3, 2000

The first large-scale conference on the World Trade Organization (WTO) will be held on 7 March (Tuesday) in Hong Kong. The conference, which involves world-renowned trade experts, is the first of its kind in Hong Kong.

Entitled "WTO in the New Millennium: Opportunities for the Business Sector", the conference is co-organised by the Trade Department and Cameron May Limited, a renowned publisher of WTO publications. The event is also co-sponsored by the Trade and Industry Bureau and Baker & McKenzie.

The purpose of the Conference is to enhance the local business community's understanding of the WTO and, in particular, its business relevance. In view of the widely expected imminent accession of China to the WTO, the conference will also provide a timely opportunity for participants to discuss the possible impact of China's accession on Hong Kong.

The one-day conference, to be held in the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre, will cover a wide range of WTO-related issues including the recent developments and the future of the WTO, WTO rules and its dispute settlement mechanism, developments in the services sector and China's accession to the WTO.

Speakers at the conference are all prominent experts in the field of international trade law and policy. They include, among others, Mr Miguel Rodriguez Mendoza, Deputy Director-General of the WTO; Professor William Davey, Professor of Law at the University of Illinois and former Director of Legal Services at the WTO Secretariat; Professor Thomas Cottier, Professor of European and International Economic Law at the University of Bern; Mr Gary Sampson, former director at WTO Secretariat; and Mr Alistair Stewart, Head of Unit of the European Commission. In addition, lawyers from Baker & McKenzie, the co-sponsor of the conference, will speak on the legal ramifications of China's accession to the WTO, and consultants specializing in WTO matters will speak on various other topics.

Mr Chau Tak Hay, Secretary for Trade and Industry, will address the opening ceremony of the conference and Mr Joshua Law, Director-General of Trade, will give closing remarks. The keynote luncheon speaker will be Mr Linus Cheung, Chief Executive of Cable & Wireless HKT.

Over 300 participants representing 40 local chambers of commerce, trade associations and professional bodies are expected to take part in the conference.