. /.  WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  RESTRICTED 
WT/WGTDF/W/61 
29 February 2012 
 (12-1168) 
Working Group on Trade, Debt and Finance  
  
SEMINAR ON EXCHANGE RATES AND TRADE 
27-28 March 2012 – COUNCIL ROOM 
 
Draft programme 
  
Tuesday 27 March 2012 
 
9:30  Opening Remarks by Mr. Pascal Lamy, Director-General of the WTO 9:50  Introductions by Mr. Martin Glass, Chairman, WGTDF  PRIVATE SECTOR SESSION 
   
This session will discuss how private sector exporters and importers are dealing with the effects of exchange rates volatility and misalignments.    Moderator: Ambassador Marion Williams (Barbados) 
Speakers: 
 - Mr. Josué Gomes da Silva, CEO of Coteminas, Brazil  - Mr. Stewart Robert Jennings, CEO of PG Group, South Africa  - Mr. Li Ruogu, President, Exim Bank of China  - Mr. Philip Mosimann, CEO of Bucher Management SA, Switzerland 
 
Discussion from the floor  13:00  Lunch Break  15:00  PUBLIC SECTOR SESSION 
  
This session will discuss WTO Members' experien ce of exchange rates fluctuations and 
misalignments and their impact on trade - what kind of problems they pose to policy-makers, what are 
their direct effects on trade flows and performance in general.   
  Moderator: Ambassador Roberto Azevedo (Brazil) 
Speakers: 
- Mr. Peter Bekx, Director, International Economic and Financial Relations, European 
Commission 
 - Mr. Rajan Goyal, Director, International Trade and Finance, Reserve Bank of India 
- Mrs Ömür Demir Kizilarslan, Director-General, Economic Research and Analysis, 
Ministry of Economics, Turkey 
 - Mr. John Murray, Deputy Governor, Bank of Canada 
  
Discussion from the floor  
18:00  Reception hosted by Mr. Martin Glass, Ch airman, WGTDF and Permanent Representative of  
the Hong Kong SAR of China to the WTO, in the Council Room Lobby WT/WGTDF/W/61 
Page 2  
 
  Wednesday 28 March 2012 
 
10:00  INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS SESSION  
 This session will discuss the views and work of in ternational organizations on the relationship 
between exchange rate movements and trade, and their institutional policy experience accumulated in 
this area.    Moderator: Mr. Alejandro Jara, Deputy Director-General, WTO Speakers: 
 - Mr. Olivier Blanchard, Economic Counsello r, and Director, Research Department,  
IMF 
 - Mr. Otaviano Canuto, Vice President and Head, PREM, World Bank Group  - Mr. Rintaro Tamaki, Deputy Secretary-General, OECD 
- Mr. Heiner Flassbeck, Director, Globalization and Development Strategies, 
UNCTAD 
 Discussion from the floor   13:00  Lunch Break 
 
 15:00  ACADEMIC SESSION   
 This session will clarify the terms of the debate on the relationship between exchange rates and trade 
from a scientific/academic standpoint, drawing on th e research of leading academics on the subject 
and that of others.    Moderator: Professor Cedric Tille, HEID, Geneva Speakers:  - Prof. Philip Lane, Head of Economics De partment, Trinity College, Dublin, Ireland 
 - Prof. Philippe Martin, Head of Ec onomics Department, Sciences Po Paris 
 - Prof. Alberto Trejos, INCAE Business School, Costa Rica  - Prof. Wei Shang-Jin, Director, Chazen Institute of International Business,  
  Columbia University, New York, USA   
Discussion from the floor 
 18:00  End of session and of the seminar    
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