Posted on February, 07 2013

WWF's Forest & Trade Network for Northern Amazon and the Choco-Darien (GFTN-NACD), in association with Panama's Ministry of Trade and Industry (MICI) and the Inter-American Development Bank's (IDB) Programme for Indigenous Business Development (PRODEI), invites interested parties to attend the1st International Business Roundtable for Sustainable Forestry in Panama.

The event will be held on Monday, 18 March, 2013 in City of Knowledge, Panama City. 

The roundtable will be a chance to meet face to face with Panamanian companies to learn about the responsible forest products they’re offering.

The principal aim of this meeting is to facilitate interaction between responsible producers and buyers of forest products, in order to establish business agreements, cooperation, and/or trade associations. This approach is intended to promote domestic and international wood trade from certified forests or forests in the process of certification, as well as fair and responsible trade.

GFTN-NACD will also hold an informative workshop, which will serve as a complementary platform for the exchange of ideas and information relevant to responsible forest management and trade. Companies will have the opportunity to familiarize themselves and engage with different actors involved in Panama's responsible forestry sector.

If your company is interested in participating in this Business Roundtable, please complete and submit the registration form (see download section). Shortly afterwards we will contact you in order to establish an agenda of business meetings for your company.

Important: The deadline for submitting the registration form is 15 February, 2013.

GFTN-Latin America & the Caribbean (GFTN-LAC) has been working actively to promote market linkages among producers and buyers of responsible forest products, and help companies explore new business opportunities. In November 2012, GFTN-LAC organized the first Sellers' Mission to enable seven companies from Latin America attend the Greenbuild International Conference and Expo, the world's largest convention dedicated to green building. The venture resulted in sales totaling nearly $300,000. 

CONDITIONS OF PARTICIPATION

I hereby agree to participate in the International Business Roundtable for Sustainable Forestry to be held on 18 March, 2013 in Panama City, PANAMA. In light of the above, I accept the following commitments:

a) Comply with the agenda prepared by the Organization, strictly respecting the times indicated for each activity.

b) Attend all business meetings agreed in my "Meeting Agenda," both meetings I requested as well as those to which other participants have request my company.

c) Complete the follow-up surveys immediately after each meeting scheduled for the Business Roundtable.

In kind, GFTN NACD, as the organizer of the Business Roundtable, agrees to:

a) Generate a balanced "Meeting Agenda" with the requests made by all participants.

b) Inform all participants about the activities prior to and during the event.

c) Send to all participants the list of registered companies and corresponding form for meeting requests.

d) Provide each participant with the following materials:
- Business Directory
- Business Agenda
- Folder with event information
- Credential for the event

e) Include all participants in the Business Directory

See information in Spanish here.