30 July 2004 – Foreign Affairs Secretary Delia Domingo Albert has commenced an integrated response of the different offices in the DFA to pursue President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo’s 10-point agenda. Secretary Albert has directed Undersecretary for International Economic Relations Edsel Custodio to conduct a 2-day workshop on Successful Services Export Promotion on 2-3 August 2004 at the Bulwagang Blas F. Ople, 14th floor of DFA. The workshop will be done in cooperation with the National Economic and Development Authority and the Department of Trade and Industry.

“This workshop will help directly address President Arroyo’s mandate to create 6 million jobs as part of her 10-point agenda,” Foreign Affairs Secretary Delia Domingo Albert, who also once headed the OUIER as Undersecretary, said. “The principle aim of the workshop is to build up the capacity of services providers and government officials to take full advantage of the global opportunities for exports of services.”

The workshop will be conducted by Ms. Doreen Conrad, Chief of the Trade in Services Section at the International Trade Center (ITC) in Geneva.

The ITC is a United Nations agency, funded by the World Trade Organization (WTO) and the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), charged with the responsibility of promoting expertise in the export development of both products and services of developing countries.  It does extensive market and product research to match buyers and sellers as well as develop functional tools for effective marketing.

At the workshop, Ms. Conrad will be providing practical tips and strategies on the common issues facing all services exporters, such as identifying potential products and markets, relationship marketing, effective networking, working with partners, leveraging cyberspace, strengthening export readiness, building international profile and credibility, as well as highlighting and showcasing competitive services capabilities globally.

Ms. Conrad will also provide an overview of the WTO General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) and its relevance and impact on the Philippines’ services sector in the economic development of the country. - END