Transforming trade. Changing lives.

(Geneva, Switzerland) Closing remarks by Pamela Coke-Hamilton, ITC Executive Director, at the ITC 60th Anniversary Event.

Thank you, Helene, for your kind words, which are the perfect way for us to close our event.

We’re immensely proud to call Geneva our home, and very grateful for Switzerland’s support for ITC’s work and for our role in this community.

We truly wouldn’t be here without you.

And now, without further ado, I’d like to show you all our new 60th anniversary publication: a visual tour through the highlights of ITC’s history, from our earliest moments to some of our most recent milestones.

They say a picture is worth a thousand words. I’d say that doesn’t nearly do those pictures justice.

We’ll be sending it to our funders and partners over the coming weeks, and everyone can already access it online at the ITC website.

It’s a publication that shows how, over 60 years, we’ve been transforming trade and changing lines.

Which, as it turns out, is also our brand-new tagline.

It’s a tagline that captures both where we’ve been and where we’re heading.

And one that goes back to why trade is, more than anything else a human story.

Because sometimes the most ambitious, and most honest, messages are the simplest.

That’s the message we will continue to live by ourselves, which is why I’m also excited to share that next year we’ll be convening the first-ever global ministerial dedicated to SME issues.

A ministerial that will be driven by our firm belief in collaboration, and our unfailing dedication to sustainable development.

A ministerial shaped in consultation and collaboration with our funders, our partners, and the people we serve.

A ministerial that will usher in the next chapter of our history together.

Thank you all, and I welcome you to join us for our reception on the terrace by the lake in a few minutes, where I can promise you a night to remember.