The “Geneva Manifesto” was unveiled at the 13th World Chambers Congress (13WCC) in the presence of 1,500 Chamber Leaders. The Manifesto is a powerful pledge by chambers of commerce to revitalise international trade with a renewed commitment to multilateralism for peace and prosperity.
Signed in Geneva by Charandeep Singh BEM, Deputy Chief Executive, Scottish Chambers of Commerce, and Shevaun Haviland, Director-General, British Chambers of Commerce, the declaration commits Chambers to redoubling their efforts towards making a difference in the real economy and building a modern system that serves as a driving force for economic inclusion, global cooperation, and sustainable development.
Leveraging Geneva’s historical position as a seat of multilateralism and the global capital of peace, chambers leaders are calling on all governments to renew their commitment to rules-based trade, effective international cooperation and respect for international law.
The pledge comes at a time of heightened geopolitical tensions, with questions about the future of international cooperation and global commerce. The manifesto underlines the business community’s concern over the growing fragmentation of the global economy and the significant implications for cross-border issues like climate change and international finance.
“Signing the landmark Geneva Manifesto is a demonstration of our Network’s vision and dedication to peace and prosperity. The pledge sends a powerful message from the International Chambers of Commerce Network: we are committed to multilateralism, shared prosperity, global cooperation and economic growth. Scottish Chambers of Commerce will play its part in collaboration with our global Chambers Network to realise these ambitions.” Charandeep Singh BEM, Deputy Chief Executive, Scottish Chambers of Commerce
“Cooperation is key to overcoming the world’s major challenges, and at ICC, we understand that we must all work together as a united business community to address them. By collaborating and speaking with one voice, we can boost the global economy and foster economic inclusivity, international collaboration, and advance sustainability,” Maria Fernanda Garza, ICC Chair.
“The Geneva Manifesto is a powerful message from our vibrant business community, reaffirming our commitment to strengthen multilateralism and international trade as a catalyst for shared prosperity. It is a true testament to Geneva’s historical position as the capital city of global governance, and a call to action for all chambers and businesses small and large to work together towards improving economic conditions around the world,” Vincent Subilia, Director General of Geneva Chamber of Commerce.
Geneva Manifesto Pledges
Read the full Manifesto at iccwbo.org
We pledge today to redouble our collective efforts to facilitate the deployment of chamber tools, services and networks that can make a real difference in the real economy, including:
- Scaling our support to help small businesses become more competitive by accessing global value chains.
- Expanding the use of digital tools to enhance the integrity and accessibility of origin systems—building on the key role ascribed to chambers in issuing certificates of origin under the Geneva Convention on the Simplification of Customs Formalities exactly one hundred years ago.
- Promoting the adoption of digital trade standards and interoperable trade technologies to lower transaction costs for small businesses.
- Delivering best-in-class capacity building and tools to help companies adopt sustainable business practices— regardless of their size, sector or location.
- Facilitating enhanced access to finance by small businesses to enable them to trade and power the green transition.
- Enabling a coordinated business response to crises and humanitarian disasters.
- Extending and scaling chamber initiatives to promote women’s economic empowerment; and
- Catalysing business-to-business connections and partnerships with the power to deliver real impact where it is needed the most.
