Dr. Toby Malichi

I was honored to attend the Global Services Summit 2010 held in Washington, D.C. on September 22, 2010 as an “Honorary Attendee” and have the opportunity to ask Ambassador Ron Kirk of USTR the first question centering around small-and-medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) importance to the global services industries and our many contributions to exporting; and the up coming Trans Asia-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPP).

Ambassador Kirk thanked me personally by name; Dr. Malichi, and acknowledged our vast contributions to trade and the global services industry as well as encouraging all SMEs to export as a value-proposition to job creation and potential revenue growth and development.

Below, please review the high-level of global leaders, trade ministers, and speakers in attendence:

September 22, 2010, Dr. Toby Malichi, Hon. D. Bus. was appointed an “Honorary Attendee” by the Global Services Coalition Industries to attend the Global Services Summit 2010: Breaking the Deadlock on Services Trade and Investment which was held in Washington, DC.

Trade ministers and trade policy leaders from U.S. and around the world to examine ways to expand services trade and investment, in order to create jobs, growth, and sustained economic recovery.

Who: United States Trade Representative Ron Kirk will make the opening keynote address at the Global Services Summit in Washington, DC on Wednesday, September 22, 2010.

The conference will also include remarks by other leaders in international trade, including:
Hon. Anand Sharma, Minister of Commerce and Industry, India
Hon. Craig Emerson, Minister of Trade, Australia
Hon. Bruno Ferrari, Secretary of the Economy, Mexico
Hon. Tim Groser, Minister of Trade, New Zealand
Hon. Mustapa Mohamed, Minister of Trade and Industry, Malaysia
Lord Brittan, Trade Advisor to UK Prime Minister David Cameron
Hon. Pascal Lamy, Director-General, World Trade Organization

Congressional leaders will include:
Hon. Sander Levin, Chairman, House Ways and Means Committee
Hon. Dave Camp, Ranking Member, House Ways and Means Committee
Hon. Joseph Crowley, Co-Chair, Congressional Services Caucus

Business leaders will include:
Hon. William M. Daley, Vice Chairman, JPMorgan Chase
Scott Price, CEO, Walmart Asia
Rajan Bharti Mittal, President, Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry
Dr. Robert Atkinson, President, The Information Technology and Innovation Foundation
Bill Toppeta, President, MetLife International; Chairman, Coalition of Service Industries

In addition, the Summit included remarks by other senior trade officials and business leaders (that’d be me):-)

Have a successfull day!

USTR Ambassador Ron Kirk wrote: “Dr. Malichi, I want to extend my deep appreciation to you for being a panelist at our January 21, 2010 conference, Jobs on Main Street, Customers Around the World Conference. The response to the conference has been excellent, and the credit for that goes to you and other business leaders who took the time to travel to Washington, D.C. and share your insights on the opportunities and challenges of expanding small-business exports.”

The conference was hosted by Ambassador Ron Kirk, Excecutive Office of the President, The United States Trade Representative (USTR) in coordination with the U.S. Department of Commerce, the Small Business Administration, the Export-Import Bank, and other U.S. trade-promotion institutions so that trade policy and promotion can better reinforce each other and better tap the vast exporting potential of U.S. small business. As we look forward to staying in touch so that your perspectives might continue to guide USTR’s ongoing efforts.

Ambassador Ron Kirk went on to write: It was a pleasure to make your acquaintance, and I wish Malichi Group Worldwide (the firm I founded, January 1, 1982; www.malichi.com) the very best success.

The conference on exports and jobs was so well attended by business and government and NGO leaders from through-out the U.S., that extra seating had to be bought in to handle the over-flow capacity.

Ambassador Kirk and other USTR officials assured me that they would keep me involved to advise and assist on (President Obama’s National Trade Initiative and the upcoming Trans Asia-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TAPP) on how to meet the export needs of small-and-medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

Thus far, USTR has kept their word. Please stay tuned for my next post.

As always, I welcome your input.

Have a successful day!

Tomorrow August 5, 2009, I will be meeting with top government officials and business leaders from Taipei, Taiwan as well with government officials and other business leaders here in Indianapolis to discuss potential business partnerships for the Central Indiana Region. The state of Indiana and Taipei has had a long-standing sister-cities business relationship.

Although the World Bank predicts in 2009 that global trade in the world economy will drop by 9%. I predict that world markets will bounce back modestly to perserve the economic gains made throught free trade agreements, bi-lateral agreements, and other sister-cities relationships. The U.S. government and our own U.S. economy depends heavily on trade with the Chinese.

My firm Malichi Group Worldwide (www.malichi.com) has long established relationships with China and hopes to expand those business relatonships with Taipei’s government and business leaders tomorrow.

Let me know your thoughts and how we might partner on current and/or future global projects either here in the U.S. or around the world.

Have a successful day!