Published by Gbaf News
Posted on June 17, 2016
6 min readLast updated: January 22, 2026
Delegates attending the inaugural World Trade Symposium – held in London from 7-8 June 2016 and co-organised by Misys and the Financial Times – are calling for a number of actions to facilitate and expand global trade with a view to supporting long-term economic growth and prosperity for people across the world. The Symposium brought together global leaders, innovative thinkers, influencers and subject matter experts from different corners of trade and commerce, including banks, corporates, industry bodies and not-for-profits, to share their views and recommendations for delivering on a common vision of collaborative, connected, inclusive trade and finance, built on the latest technologies.
In his opening keynote Roberto Azevêdo, Director General of the World Trade Organisation shared his views on stimulating growth in world trade, stating that: “If trade is to continue supporting growth, we need to respond to the anti-trade rhetoric that is becoming commonplace and recognise that in recent years, trade has helped to lift hundreds of millions of people out of poverty — in a way which you just don’t see in closed economies.”
Simon Paris, Co-Chair of the World Trade Board and President at Misys, noted: “Through the World Trade Symposium we’ve created a forum where we can discuss the agenda for change and put initiatives in place to help shape how global trade will look in coming years. The World Trade Board will provide regular updates including a flow of progress, specific actions and proposals, and an ever extended group of stakeholders. Together we can be a force for change. We can use trade, finance and technology to help improve people’s lives and make financial inclusion a reality.”
Summing up the discussions on the first day of the Symposium, Simon noted that to make international trade work better, we must be conscious of:
Specific recommendations from the working groups at the Symposium included calls for:
Following the event, the World Trade Board will be producing a series of reports and recommendations.
Click here to view a video summary of the World Trade Symposium 2016.
Click here to download photographs from the World Trade Symposium 2016.
Delegates attending the inaugural World Trade Symposium – held in London from 7-8 June 2016 and co-organised by Misys and the Financial Times – are calling for a number of actions to facilitate and expand global trade with a view to supporting long-term economic growth and prosperity for people across the world. The Symposium brought together global leaders, innovative thinkers, influencers and subject matter experts from different corners of trade and commerce, including banks, corporates, industry bodies and not-for-profits, to share their views and recommendations for delivering on a common vision of collaborative, connected, inclusive trade and finance, built on the latest technologies.
In his opening keynote Roberto Azevêdo, Director General of the World Trade Organisation shared his views on stimulating growth in world trade, stating that: “If trade is to continue supporting growth, we need to respond to the anti-trade rhetoric that is becoming commonplace and recognise that in recent years, trade has helped to lift hundreds of millions of people out of poverty — in a way which you just don’t see in closed economies.”
Simon Paris, Co-Chair of the World Trade Board and President at Misys, noted: “Through the World Trade Symposium we’ve created a forum where we can discuss the agenda for change and put initiatives in place to help shape how global trade will look in coming years. The World Trade Board will provide regular updates including a flow of progress, specific actions and proposals, and an ever extended group of stakeholders. Together we can be a force for change. We can use trade, finance and technology to help improve people’s lives and make financial inclusion a reality.”
Summing up the discussions on the first day of the Symposium, Simon noted that to make international trade work better, we must be conscious of:
Specific recommendations from the working groups at the Symposium included calls for:
Following the event, the World Trade Board will be producing a series of reports and recommendations.
Click here to view a video summary of the World Trade Symposium 2016.
Click here to download photographs from the World Trade Symposium 2016.
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