Seminar on electronic trade held in Casablanca

Casablanca is playing host this June 15-17 to a seminar on the stakes and challenges of electronic trade for the member countries of the Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC).

The seminar, sponsored by the Casablanca-based Islamic center for trade development, is debating means of developing such a trade, the problems related to electronic trade, transfer of data between Islamic states and protection of the consumer.

Other topics cover electronic trade and new information technologies, financial environment and electronic trade as a new marketing tool.

Director general of the center Badreddine Allali told the seminar the promotion of electronic trade among Islamic states would undoubtedly increase inter-Islamic trade exchanges and upgrade cooperation.

Delegate of the Islamic Development Bank to the seminar on his part underlined the role electronic trade would play in fostering inter-Islamic exchanges which do not exceed, he said, 1% of overall trade deal of Islamic countries.

The Islamic center for trade development organized last May a conference on the same topic that was attended by the economic counselors at the embassies of OIC member countries in Morocco.

The conference had underlined the importance of the topic as electronic trade is an integral component of globalization and a necessary tool in international relations.

In 1997, electronic trade represented 15% of overall transactions in international trade and is poised to drain 42 % of transactions in 2002.