BEGIN:VCALENDAR VERSION:2.0 PRODID:unctad.org BEGIN:VEVENT UID:6ae666aad120c DTSTART:20250918T084500Z SEQUENCE:0 TRANSP:OPAQUE DTEND:20250918T100000Z LOCATION:WTO\, Room W\, Geneva\, Switzerland SUMMARY:WTO Public Forum 2025 session: Invisible trade – data\, services and the digital divide CLASS:PUBLIC DESCRIPTION:The digital transformation is reshaping the global economy\, re defining how goods and services are produced\, traded\, and consumed. Digi tally delivered services are now among the fastest-growing components of i nternational trade. Yet many developing and least developed countries rema in excluded from this transformation due to infrastructure gaps\, limited digital skills\, and insufficient data.Reliable\, disaggregated\, and time ly statistics on trade in services—especially digital services—are ess ential for designing evidence-based policies that can drive inclusive grow th\, fair competition\, and consumer protection. Current statistical syste ms\, however\, often fall short in capturing the complexity of digital tra de. This session will examine how to close these gaps to ensure that all e conomies can benefit from digital trade opportunities.The session will beg in with a fireside chat featuring keynote addresses by Mr. Pedro Moreno\, Deputy Secretary-General of UNCTAD and Ms. Johanna Hill Deputy Director Ge neral of the WTO\, followed by a panel discussion with experts and policym akers. The debate will be interactive\, encouraging participants to share perspectives on the opportunities and challenges posed by digital trade.Mo reKey Focus AreasWhat do we know—and not know—about trade in services in the digital economy?What regulatory and policy frameworks are needed to safeguard competition and consumer protection in trade in services and th e digital economy?How can international cooperation support inclusive digi tal trade?Watch liveThis plenary session will bring together:Policymakers and government officials engaged in trade and digital economy agendasTrade and competition authoritiesResearchers and academics in trade\, law\, and digital policyBusiness leaders and digital economy stakeholdersCivil soci ety and consumer protection advocatesExpected Outcomes:Greater awareness o f the central role of data in shaping inclusive digital trade policies.Ide ntification of key data gaps and methodological challenges in measuring se rvices trade.Practical policy recommendations for balancing trade\, compet ition\, and consumer protection in the digital era.Stronger momentum for i nternational cooperation on capacity-building and regulatory alignment.Mod erator:H.E. Mr. Muhammadou M.O. Kah\, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipo tentiary\, Permanent Representative\, Mission of the GambiaKeynote Address es:Mr. Pedro Manuel Moreno\, Deputy Secretary-General\, UNCTADMs. Johanna Hill\, Deputy Director-General\, WTOPanel Discussion:H.E. Ms. Kadra Ahmed Hassan\, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary\, Permanent Represen tative\, Mission of Djibouti in Geneva (TBC)Mr. Carlos Jacques Vieira Gome s\, Administrative Tribunal\, Economic Council for Economic Defense (CADE – Competition Authority)\, BrazilProfessor Mira Burri\, Chair for Intern ational Economic and Internet Law\, University of Lucerne\, Switzerland & lt\;p>\;The digital transformation is reshaping the global economy\, red efining how goods and services are produced\, traded\, and consumed. Digit ally delivered services are now among the fastest-growing components of in ternational trade. Yet many developing and least developed countries remai n excluded from this transformation due to infrastructure gaps\, limited d igital skills\, and insufficient data.<\;/p>\;<\;p>\;Reliable\, di saggregated\, and timely statistics on trade in services—especially digi tal services—are essential for designing evidence-based policies that ca n drive inclusive growth\, fair competition\, and consumer protection. Cur rent statistical systems\, however\, often fall short in capturing the com plexity of digital trade. This session will examine how to close these gap s to ensure that all economies can benefit from digital trade opportunitie s.<\;/p>\;<\;p>\;The session will begin with a fireside chat featu ring keynote addresses by Mr. Pedro Moreno\, Deputy Secretary-General of U NCTAD and Ms. Johanna Hill Deputy Director General of the WTO\, followed b y a panel discussion with experts and policymakers. The debate will be int eractive\, encouraging participants to share perspectives on the opportuni ties and challenges posed by digital trade.<\;/p>\;<\;div class=&quo t\;text-align-center btn-un-wrapper mb-3\n\nView meeting on unctad.org\nht tps://unctad.org/meeting/wto-public-forum-2025-session-invisible-trade-dat a-services-and-digital-divide DTSTAMP:20261031T220738Z END:VEVENT END:VCALENDAR