The Global Services Forum, a pre-event to UNCTAD XIII held in Doha, Qatar, supported the foundation meeting of the Arab Coalition of Services Industries (ACSI), an organization aimed at fostering cooperation on service sector policy in the Arab region. The meeting was convened by H.E. Mr. Talal Abu-Ghazaleh, Senator, Chairman and CEO of TAGOrg, and member of the newly appointed WTO Panel on Defining the Future of Trade.
The Global Services Coalition, consisting of the world’s leading national organizations for the promotion of the service sector, applauded in its media release yesterday the outcomes of the Forum, calling the founding of ACSI a “vital new step for business in the Arab region.”
“UNCTAD XIII is being held at a time when the world economy clearly needs an immediate boost, and the global trading system needs urgent reinforcement. To provide the stimulus required, business looks to Ministers meeting in Doha to focus more closely on the need for services-centred development,” the release urges.
“The Forum also saw the launch of valuable new UNCTAD publications on Services, Trade and Development, which provide important case study evidence of the relationship between services trade policy-making and development challenges, including regulatory and institutional dimensions,” the release notes.