APAC dignitaries convene for ICRIER and UN-ESCAP’s e-commerce Policy Summit

New Delhi: The Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations (ICRIER) and the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UN-ESCAP) are jointly organizing the inaugural '1st Asia Pacific E-Commerce Policy Summit'. Scheduled for March 14, 2024, at the India Habitat Centre in Delhi, the summit aims to facilitate discussions on creating a conducive policy framework to boost cross-border e-commerce and enhance MSMEs' integration into global value chains.

The Asia-Pacific (APAC) region, consisting of over 50 countries, has shown resilient economic growth, with a 4.6% increase in 2023 (compared to the global average of 3%) and a projected 4.2% rise in 2024 (compared to the global rate of 2.9%). Japan, South Korea, India, and Indonesia lead the e-commerce landscape, collectively contributing significantly to global revenue. This summit presents an opportunity for these nations to collaborate, driving regional integration and sustainable economic growth.

The summit's agenda features four-panel discussions given below, each addressing critical aspects of the e-commerce sector, supplemented by presentations from UN-ESCAP and tailored Q&A sessions:

• Facilitating a Robust Framework for Cross-Border E-Commerce to Enable MSMEs: Addressing the need for consultative policymaking in e-commerce across different regions
• Ensuring Consumer Protection in the Age of E-Commerce: Navigating complexities in consumer protection within multichannel retail
• E-Commerce Trade and Cross-Border Data Flows: Discussing the role of frameworks in governing cross-border data transfers
• The Transformative Role of Social Media in E-Commerce: Exploring policy engagement in the influencer paradigm

Additionally, discussions on emerging payment technologies will be included. The summit will convene over 70 policymakers, industry CEOs, senior executives, leading academics, and legal experts from across APAC countries. Distinguished speakers slated for the event include H.E. Mrs. C.A. Chaminda I. Colonne, Sri Lankan Ambassador to Thailand; H.E. Mrs. Chea Ratha, Secretary of State, Ministry of Commerce, Royal Government of Cambodia; Ms. Prewprae Chumrum, Chair, ASEAN Digital Economy Framework Agreement Negotiations; Dr. Mikiko Tanaka, Director, UN-ESCAP; Dr. Donghyun Park, Economic Advisor (Strategic Knowledge Initiatives), Asian Development Bank (ADB); Mr. Pramod Bhasin, Chairman, ICRIER; Mr. Rama Subramaniam Gandhi, Former Deputy Governor, Reserve Bank of India; Mr. Mahendra Nerurkar, VP & CEO, Amazon Pay India; Dr. Archana Goyal Gulati, Former Head of Public Policy, Google India; and Mr. Lokesh Kumar, Chief General Manager, Export-Import Bank of India, among others.