John Denton

Mr. John Denton, secretary general of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), delivered the keynote address. He drew the audiences’ attention to the ICC’s efforts to achieve its overall purpose of enabling business worldwide to secure peace, prosperity, and opportunity for all. These efforts include (i) ensuring equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines for all; (ii) enabling trade in a sustainable manner; and (iii) implementing various initiatives, such as the Digital Standards Initiative together with ADB, the pursuit of a global framework for international arbitration, the empowerment of arbitral tribunals to conduct digital proceedings, the reduction in paper usage, the diversification in the composition of ICC courts of arbitration, and the modernized use of standardized letters of credit and incoterms.

Mr. Denton lauded ADB for working to develop open trade standards through the Digital Standards Initiative, and UNCITRAL for drafting the UNCITRAL Model Law on Electronic Transferable Records to facilitate the use of transferable documents and instruments in electronic form. He also pointed out studies that prove the positive and significant impact of signing the New York Convention on foreign direct investment and the important role that small and medium enterprises (SMEs) play in boosting the economy. Finally, he emphasized the acceptability of arbitration as a global dispute resolution mechanism and what this means for countries that are thinking about adopting the New York Convention.