Helping Business to Access Government Contracts in the APEC Region
The business community, including small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) in APEC member economies, will have an opportunity to work on accessing government procurement markets at two workshops and a symposium in Thailand on August 13-14.
The event will provide an opportunity for business to provide input into strategies for the e-procurement enablement of governments and businesses in APEC economies.
Hosted by the APEC Government Procurement Experts' Group (GPEG), the meetings are intended to identify projects that will open opportunities for businesses of all sizes to access government procurement markets.
APEC Secretariat Executive Director, Ambassador Piamsak Milintachinda, said that as SMEs are some of the greatest employers in the Asia-Pacific, they must have equitable access to government contracts.
"All businesses, large and small, should have equal opportunity to tender for government work," Ambassador Milintachinda said.
"The deciding factor between which firm gets the job should not be the size of the company, but how capable that company is at carrying out the task.
"What is important is to ensure that there is no discrimination against smaller businesses and that they are able to compete for government contracts based on merit.
"Today's interconnected world and open access to the Internet provides governments and the business community, including SMEs, with the opportunity to increase their access to markets, and to improve business processes.
"E-procurement is growing as a means of doing business with governments and this should be a boost for SMEs who can use the Internet in the same way as larger businesses.
"This event will provide businesses with an opportunity to help shape strategies and policy to make it easier to access government procurement markets."
The meeting will be attended by representatives of private sector, non-government organizations and the government sector
The two workshops and the symposium will address specific issues including:
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Developing strategies to overcome challenges faced by SMEs in accessing Government procurement markets in the Asia-Pacific region.
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Doing business with Government and overcoming the practical challenges of accessing Government markets.
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Assisting Developing Economies' business community, particularly SMEs, to establish effective business practices through e-Procurement.
The GPEG Symposium will take place following the scheduled meeting of APEC Ministers Responsible for Small to Medium Enterprises in Chiang Mai, Thailand, on August 7-8.
Additional information on the GPEG workshops and symposiums to be held in Bangkok can be found at: http://www.apecsec.org.sg/committee/gov_procure.html