UNITED NATIONS TO SIGN KEY AGREEMENT WITH INTERNATIONAL CHAMBER OF COMMERCE

WORLD CHAMBERS FEDERATION, AT SIXTH WORLD CHAMBERS CONFERENCE, 4-6 JUNE

Cooperation Agreement Reaches Out to Vendors from Developing Countries,

Economies in Transition, Encouraging Use of United Nations Procurement System

On Thursday, 4 June, the United Nations Secretariat will sign a Cooperation Agreement with the International Chamber of Commerce’s World Chambers Federation during the Sixth World Chambers Conference, which is being held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, from 4 to 6 June.

The United Nations, acting through its Office of Central Support Services (OCSS), Procurement Division (UN/PD) will sign the Agreement with the International Chamber of Commerce’s World Chambers Federation (WCF).

The partnership is based on goodwill, active collaboration, as well as mutually beneficial activities, and will, among other things:  identify new business opportunities for members of the World Chambers Federation; support the outreach needs and efforts by the United Nations to increase its vendor database; educate World Chambers Federation staff and vendors about doing business with the United Nations procurement system; and register more vendors from countries categorized as developing or economies in transition in the United Nations Global Market Place (UNGM):  www.ungm.org.

Based on previous experiences with individual Chambers of Commerce which have contributed to a joint vision and a common approach, the United Nations and World Chambers Federation have decided to sign a Cooperation Agreement and formalize a voluntary and global partnership in which the Federation will actively provide support through its own resources, networks, systems and tools, as well as encourage vendors seeking business opportunities to use the United Nations procurement system.  The United Nations Procurement Division, acting as the United Nations Secretariat Procurement Focal Point, and United Nations Funds and Programmes, as well as Specialized Agencies, will assist the Federation by providing information, education tools, and up-to-date information on United Nations procurement operations.

Commenting on the upcoming formalization of this key cooperation, Paul Buades, Director of the United Nations Procurement Division, who will sign the Agreement on behalf of the Organization, said, “It is a major milestone for the United Nations to enter into such a critical partnership with the ICC (International Chamber of Commerce).  It opens a wide door to attract small and strategic vendors around the world to support UN demands.”

Rona Yircali, Chair of the World Chambers Federation, who will sign the Agreement on its behalf, said, “The Agreement will give Chamber members a fair chance to propose their products to the UN, opening a wide range of possibilities for innovation, job creation, and the development of new partnerships, especially in developing countries.”

Held every two years, the World Chambers Congress has established an enviable reputation as the place where Chambers and business leaders get to know international peers and share experience and best practice on grass-roots issues that have a direct impact on the World Chamber of Commerce community.

For more information, please contact:  United Nations Procurement Division, 304 East 45^th Street (FF Building), 2^nd Floor, New York, NY 10017.  Tel.: +1 (212) 963-6249/ E-mail: pd@un.org; http://www.un.org/depts/ptd/ or ICC WCF, 38 Cours Albert 1er, 75008, Paris, France; Tel.: + 33 1 49 53 29 44/ E-mail: Anthony.parkes@iccwbo.org; http://www.iccwbo.org/wcf

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For information media • not an official record