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Competing in the global market

16 January 2008

Commonwealth conference will examine exporting professional services – in health and education amongst others - in order to help less developed countries

The Commonwealth Secretariat is organising a conference in Malaysia aimed at promoting and improving the export of key professionals. Co-hosted with the Malaysian Government, the conference will target five sectors, namely, construction, health, education, business services, and information and communication technology.

About 300 participants, mainly from government, private sector associations, trade promotion organisations and service providers, will attend the conference. The conference – ‘Enhancing global competitiveness’ – will be held in the capital, Kuala Lumpur, from 19 to 21 February 2008. The first conference of its kind, it is anticipated that the Prime Minister of Malaysia and Commonwealth Deputy Secretary-General Ransford Smith will each give an opening address.

Since 1990, global trade in professional services – that is, all commercial services excluding transportation and travel – has more than trebled, reaching approximately US$2.8 trillion in 2006. Trade in these services has been growing at an average annual rate of 15 per cent since 2000.

This rise has been driven to a large extent by the rapid developments in telecommunications, which allow providers to sell their services much more widely. Professional services, thus, represent an avenue through which less developed, landlocked and small economies can improve their competitiveness in the global marketplace.

Over the past five years, the Secretariat has supported member states in developing their export growth strategies in this area. A few member states have successfully positioned themselves as global providers of professional services. For instance, countries like India and Malta have emerged as leaders in business process outsourcing and education, respectively, but for many it remains a challenge.

Professionals in many countries are not acquainted with the rules governing international trade in services and as a result, lack sufficient information about where the demand is and how they can access lucrative markets. Additionally, many trade promotion organisations are ill-equipped to support their clients both in government and the private sector.

The Secretariat’s Trade Adviser, Estella Aryada, says the conference will provide participants with an opportunity to learn through sharing experiences, opportunities and challenges in exporting professional services.

“Through discussions in the formal sessions and informal networking, they will come out with new ideas and practical solutions on how to improve the competitiveness of their respective sectors,” she said.

The specific areas of focus will include: regulatory issues affecting professional services trade in a World Trade Organization-governed environment; challenges of exporting professional services; developing competitiveness in trade in professional services; best practice in promoting and exporting professional services; and addressing human resource challenges.