Our Bureau

Kochi , Jan. 17

THE Institute of Small Enterprises Development (ISED) has taken the initiative to organise a two-day international conference on local economic development and small and medium enterprises here on Tuesday and Wednesday.

The topic of the conference - Local Economic Development and SME's under globalisation and emerging trade relations - cover a wide gamut of areas relevant to the current debates on the impact of globalisation, Mr P.M. Mathew, Director, ISED, said at a press meet.

The two-day event would also focus on some of the key issues dominating the development discourses all over the world. The event structured on three working sessions strives to elucidate on the problems, the ways to resolve them and the strategies to move forward, he said.

The first session explores the role of the local governments in economic development. The focus of the session will be on bringing out the specific role of the local governments in formulating strategies for enterprise development in the era of globalisation marked by an unprecedented level of centralisation and concentration of wealth and decision-making process.

The second working session focusing on `Enterprise Development Experience', strategies presentations and case studies would explore the relevance of industrial clusters, micro-finance and other initiatives at the local level.

The third working session is devoted to globalisation, trade and enterprise development. The thrust area of the session includes the importance of the local economy in an era of multilateral trade regimes, fair trade and local economic development and sustainable developments at the local level and the global market, he said.

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