Regional Conversation Series on Building Back Better “Resilient Supply Chains and Connectivity” (virtual meeting)

ITF Secretary-General Young Tae Kim provides keynote remarks. 

Over the past half-century, countries of Asia and the Pacific have pursued a development strategy based on globalized trade and transport. Many low-income countries, including those that are least developed, have banked their future on securing their place in global value chains.

Containment measures for the COVID-19 pandemic, however, have exposed vulnerabilities in supply chains and connectivity, especially for products made by a single source or reliant on complex supply chains. As the costs of these disruptions mount, a refreshed debate about the shortcomings of globalization, is taking shape.

This session of the Regional Conversation series among high-level Government officials, thought leaders and stakeholders explores the challenges and opportunities for economies in the region as they recover from the COVID-19 pandemic and re-establish supply chains and connectivity. The session focuses on the following:

1. How will regional supply chains change in the post-COVID-19 world? How can government policies ensure a role for countries in Asia and the Pacific in these supply chains?
2. Is there a trade-off between efficiency and resilience of supply chains?
3. What can be done to establish trade and transport connectivity that is more resilient? How can digitalization and frontier technologies help?
4. How should regional trade and transport cooperation evolve in order to better support countries of Asia and the Pacific? How can we maximize the potential of agreements already in place?
5. How can we incorporate sustainable principles so that we build back better?

Registration link: http://bit.ly/RegionalConv

8:00 - 10:00 CEST