International trade forum discusses internationalization

Switzerland Global Enterprise (S-GE) is hosting the International Trade Forum on Wednesday, 26 April at the SwissTech Convention Center in Lausanne. According to the invitation, the half-day event on the topic of "Reorganization of trade flows - chaos or opportunity?" will begin at 12 noon with a speech by Ruth Metzler-Arnold, Chairman of the Board of Directors of S-GE, followed by questions on the key topic to Simone Wyss Fedele, CEO of S-GE.

The platform International Trade Forum is attended by around 400 export companies from Switzerland and Liechtenstein, as well as representatives from politics and administration, according to a statement. The audience in Lausanne comprises CEOs, owners, managing directors, marketing and export managers, and other executives.

Of the background to the event, the statement writes that although global competition is alive and well, globalization is changing fundamentally. New trade barriers and geopolitical risks are shaping day-to-day international business. Swiss SMEs are responding to the crises with newly designed value chains that are intended to make them more resilient and more competitive in the long term. The International Trade Forum will give new impetus to what needs to be done from the point of view of internationally active SMEs and what opportunities need to be exploited now. The event languages are French and German with simultaneous interpretation.

Keynote speakers will be the Director of the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO), State Secretary Helene Budliger Artieda, and Martin Strehl, CEO of Eversys, which specializes in coffee vending machines.

Several panels will discuss topics such as "China: Quo Vadis?", the role of the circular economy in international business, infrastructure projects in peripheral markets, and the impact of inflation and energy strategy for the Swiss export industry.