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History

THE NEW DELHI DECLARATION OF G-15 FEDERATION OF CHAMBERS FOR COMMERCE, INDUSTRY AND SERVICES (FCCIS)

"We, the members of the G-15 FCCIS, having gathered at New Delhi, India on 16 th January, 2001, in the 6 th General Body Meeting of G-15 FCCIS to discuss tapping opportunities for trade amongst G-15 countries, to enhance the intra G-15 trade amongst member countries, to discuss key economic development issues of importance to the business people, to explore the possibilities of cooperation in investment matters and to take further action towards exploiting the full potential of Small and Medium Enterprises.

TAKING INTO ACCOUNT the serious challenges being faced by the developing countries in the wake of globalization and rapid technological changes and the need to work together to face these challenges;

RECOGNISING that the establishment of economic cooperation groupings among developing countries have opened up new opportunities for trade and investment;

REALISING the vulnerability of developing countries' economies to financial crises as those faced by the East Asian and Latin American Economies and the lessons learned from these crises and their recovery;

CONSCIOUS that the increasing protectionism trends in developed country markets and the erosion of the bargaining power of developing countries underlines the need for greater G-15 cohesion and unity;

RECONISING the importance of SMEs in economic growth and poverty alleviation through employment generation and focusing on enhancing the level of cooperation among the SMEs of the member countries to exploit their full potential;

APPRECIATING the role of the business sector in G-15 countries in implementing programmes to promote trade and investment in general within the Group as well as facing global challenges;

STRESSING the importance of the G-15 Expert Meeting on "Cooperation on SMEs among G-15 countries" to be held in Cairo, Egypt in February 2001, as an essential input from our governments to promote & maximizing cooperation on SMEs in G-15 countries;

UNDERSTANDING the need and importance of private and public sector participation in formulating policy options for tapping the opportunities for intra-G-15 trade and investment;

Having decided to adopt the following agenda for Cooperation in Trade and Investments among G-15 countries:

• EVOLVE specific strategies in various sectors relating to expansion of intra-G-15 trade and cooperation in respect of accessing developed countries' markets
• IDENTIFY economic complementarities and synergies for promoting inter-firm cooperation, partnerships and networks in order to develop technological capacity, improve market access and promote innovation.
• ESTABLISH a Core Group of G-15 FCCIS on E-commerce; new procedures at all levels to facilitate exchange of information on technical cooperation and commercial opportunities through information infrastructures and networking facilities, including developing "G-15 FCCIS Website" which provides a network between all G-15 Chambers of Commerce & Industries and facilities on-line E-commerce.
• RECOMMEND the respective governments to designate institutions and G-15 focal points in Government, Trade and Investment Promotion Agencies as well as Apex Chambers for the promotion and facilitation of intra-G-15 trade and investment.
• DEVELOP SME Focal Points for information dissemination, SME Trade Development, Institutional Capacity Building , Training and Enterprise to Enterprise cooperation.
• SET UP expert group for identifying/establishing concrete mechanisms to boost trade and investment within the outside G-15 in selected sectors and for specific products; and enhancing opportunities for exporting G-15 expertise and services to developed countries' markets.
• REALISE existing and potential intra-15 opportunities in trade, investment and technology transfer in key areas and sectors.
• ACKNOWLEDGE AND SUPPORT the investment of public and private sectors in South-South Cooperation and accordingly endorse the activities of the G-15 Chambers of Commerce and Industry and encourage participation in various projects.
• PROMOTE and ENHANCE, among G-15 countries, economic and trade relations in the areas , such as trade financing, insurance, shipping, logistics, trade facilitation, promotion and protection of investments, avoidance of double taxation, and product specification and standards.
• CONSULT AND COORDINATE, as appropriate, among G-15 trade and industry groups on WTO process with a view to understand and assess the implications of the negotiations on increasing market access for the goods, services and sectors of export interest to the developing countries and to prevent the denial of market access due to, inter alliance, linkage of environment and labor standards of trade.
• MAKE efforts to build institutional mechanisms in G-15 countries at different levels to facilitate constructive and focused interaction between Governments and Business Associations and between Business Associations of G-15 countries in order to develop deeper understanding of the WTO rules and their implications so as to ensure fair and equitable outcomes for G-15 Trade and Industry in WTO discussions.
• DECIDE that the next G-15 FCCIS Meeting during G-15 Summit 2001 shall review and plan necessary efforts for implementation of the decisions taken at the New Delhi Meeting.
• Further, the G-15 FCCIS took note of the suggestions to declare the year 2001 as "THE YEAR IF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENT FOR SMES"

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