Event:JOINT INTERNATIONAL
BRIEFING & FORUM
WITH WORLD CUSTOMS ORGANISATION
Date:25TH / 26TH July 2006
Venue:Hotel Warwick International, Geneva, Switzerland

    WFZC/WCO Joint Briefing & Forum - 25th/26th July 2006
From the very first speaker (Raul Torres of the World Trade Organisation) the high level of presentations ensured a lively and informed debate about the likely future direction of Zones, Parks and Development areas in the evolving global economy.

WFZC and WTO would like to publicly express their appreciation to those who worked to prepare and present the very useful powerpoints and associated texts (see Library pages).

During the course of the event the Director of the World Customs Organisation and Chairman of World Free Zone Convention signed a Declaration to co-operate more closely together in the future.

    WHO WAS IN GENEVA?

We were delighted to welcome individuals and delegations from the following countries:

Bahrain
Belgium
Benin
Brazil
Bulgaria
Cambodia
Cape Verde
Croatia
Czech Rep.
Egypt
Eritrea
Finland
France
Ghana
Greece
India
Ivory Coast
Jordan
Kazakhstan
Libya
Rep. of Macedonia
Malaysia
Nicaragua
Nigeria
Russian Federation
Rep. of Serbia
Saudi Arabia
South Africa
Switzerland
Tanzania
Togo
Trinidad & Tobago
Turkey
U.A.E.
UK
USA
Venezuela

    These participants represented an excellent cross-section of organisations, from Zones, Authorities, Government, Corporates and their advisers.

    As organisers we chose the words Briefing and Forum to indicate that, in addition to hearing the latest information on each topic from our expert speakers, there was also an opportunity for discussion and debate.

PROGRAMME
CUSTOMS, WORLD TRADE AND TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER ISSUES FOR FREE ZONES, SCIENCE PARKS, ENTERPRISE ZONES AND THE COMPANIES LOCATED IN THEM

DAY ONE
09.30INTRODUCTION
Graham Mather, Chairman, World Free Zone Convention, President, European Policy Forum, London & Brussels
09.35THE CURRENT APPROACH OF THE WORLD TRADE ORGANISATION TO ZONES - RULES AND TRADE FACILITATION
Speakers
Mr. Raúl Torres, Legal Affairs Officer, Development Division WTO Secretariat, Geneva
Mr. Murray Smith, Director, TICON, and Consortium for Trade Related Assistance to the European Commission (EU/WTO Framework Programme) Geneva
10.30Coffee
11.00HOW TO BENEFIT FROM DEVELOPING RELATIONSHIPS WITH INTERNATIONAL ORGANISATIONS
Speakers
Mr. Philippe Blanchard, Head of Global Public Affairs Practice EMEA, Hill & Knowlton and Managing Director Public Affairs, Brussels
Mrs. Flávia Skrobot Barbosa Grosso, Superintendent of Manaus Free Trade Zone, SUFRAMA Manaus, Amazonas, Brazil
11.45WCO TRADE FACILITATION INITIATIVES & DISCUSSION
Speakers
Mr. Michael Schmitz, Director, World Customs Organisation, Brussels
Mr. Jan Hoffman, Economic Affairs Officer, Trade Facilitation Section, Trade Logistics Branch, UNCTAD, Geneva.
13.15Lunch
14.30PRACTICAL PROBLEMS OF TRANSFER PRICING AND CUSTOMS VALUATION
Speakers
Mr. Julien Pauwels, Director, Deloitte Tax Consultants, Brussels
Ms. Maytee Pereira, Director, Worldtrade Management Services, PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, USA
15.30MANAGING A LABOUR FORCE ACROSS ZONE BORDERS AND THE INFOCUS INITIATIVE 2006-2007
Speaker
Mr. Paul Bailey, Senior Technical Specialist, Sectoral Activities Department, International Labour Office (ILO) Geneva
16.15Tea
16.30THE GROWTH OF KNOWLEDGE TRANSFER IN ZONES AND PARKS
Speaker
Mr. Estaban Burrone, Programme Officer, Office of Strategic Use of Intellectual Property for Development (OSUIPD) World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) Geneva
17.15Discussion and Close of Day One
 
DAY TWO
09.15SETTING UP AND MONITORING ZONE CUSTOMS BASES IN PUBLIC AND PRIVATE ZONES
Speaker
Mahmoud Attallah, Vice Chairman, General Authority for Investment and Free Zones (GAFI) Cairo, Egypt
10.00OTHER WAYS OF OPERATING ZONE CUSTOMS PROGRAMMES
Speaker
Mr. Randy Campbell, President, Campbell Trade Group Inc. York, Pennsylvania; former Executive Director, National Association of Foreign Trade Zones, USA
10.45Coffee
11.00INCENTIVES AND EVOLVING QUESTIONS OF TAX AND STATE AID - managing regional, state and city support for inward investment in today's competitive environment
Speakers
Mr. Alastair Sutton Partner, White & Case LLP, Brussels
Mr. Joseph A. Marinucci, Chairman of the Board, International Economic Development Council, Washington, DC
H.E. Mr. Saleh Kilani, Commissioner for Economic Development and Investment Affairs, Aqaba Special Economic Zone Authority (ASEZA) Jordan
12.30KNOW YOUR INVESTOR - THE IMPORTANCE OF DUE DILIGENCEhtml>
Speaker
Mr. Laurent Sansoucy, Director, Paris Office, OCO Consulting, UK
13.15Lunch
14.30SECURITY AND FRAUD PREVENTION
Speaker
Mr. David Lilburn Watson, Director, MacIvor Grant Limited, UK
15.15WHAT IS THE IMPACT OF THE PROLIFERATION OF ZONES FOR CUSTOMS AUTHORITIES
Speaker
Mr. Ray McDonagh, Deputy Director, World Customs Organisation, Brussels
16.00SUMMING UP
Graham Mather
16.15Tea and Close of Conference