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4 March 2021 Eduardo Silva Romero, Co-Chair of Dechert’s International Arbitration Global Practice, was elected as Chair of the ICC Institute of World Business Law last year. Having stepped into his role officially in January, he has an ambitious agenda for the global think-tank. We sat down with Mr Silva Romero to learn about his plans to prioritise diversity and expand the focus of the Institute to ensure it remains a driver of world business law excellence. Eduardo Silva Romero, Chair of the ICC Institute of World Business Law; Co-Chair of Dechert’s International Arbitration Global Practice Prioritising diversity and inclusion ICC: What

2 March 2021 ICC Secretary-General John W.H. Denton AO and Henrietta Fore, Executive Director of UNICEF, have penned a joint op-ed highlighting the urgency of addressing barriers to the distribution of COVID-19 vaccines. Recognising UNICEF’s role as the procurement partner for the Global COVAX Facility, leading the largest vaccine procurement and supply operation in history, the ICC and UNICEF chiefs have called on world leaders to address the “rounding error” presented by the US$659 million funding gap needed to support UNICEF’s role in the delivery of all COVID-19 tools and vaccines, country preparedness and roll out in communities. The op-ed references

26 February 2021 On the latest episode of ICC Trading Thoughts, Karima-Catherine Goundiam, the founder of B2beeMatch, speaks about the importance of creating a digital network for small and medium-sized enterprises. ICC sat down with Karima-Catherine Goundiam, the founder of B2bee Match to discuss her background as an entrepreneur and how business leaders and policymakers can enable SMEs with the tools and resources that they need to digitise their operations. B2bee Match is one of the official partners of ICC’s Centre of Entreprenuership and will contribute to ICC’s campaign to digitise 5 million SMEs in Africa. Listen now on Soundcloud | Spotify | Apple Podcasts Check out all

25 February 2021 As we wrap up the end of the ICC MENA Conference on International Arbitration, Faris Shehabi, Managing Associate of Ince, explores specific issues that can arise in periods of economic downturn and the available tools to combat them. In any arbitration, there will be a number of interested actors–the claimant and the respondent (there may be more than one of each); the arbitral tribunal; and, where chosen by the parties, the institution. Each of these actors will have different and sometimes competing interests and motivations. This conflict can give rise to a multitude of issues in the arbitration

23 February 2021 Hamad Buamim, Chair of the International Chamber of Commerce’s (ICC) World Chambers Federation (WCF) has officially launched the World Chambers Competition. The 2021 edition of the Competition will recognise chambers of commerce around the world that are striving to keep their business communities functioning even in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic. Watch the video The sudden coronavirus outbreak led to unprecedented disruption and hardship for many businesses across the world, particularly small- and medium-sized enterprises. However, chambers of commerce globally have been stepping up to provide tools and resources to help business communities survive and build resilience

19 February 2021 Calling for global action plan to beat the pandemic, ICC, the institutional representative of over 45 million businesses – has issued a statement following the conclusion of the G7 leaders’ summit. ICC Secretary General John W.H. Denton AO said: “G7 leaders have sent a very welcome signal today of their intent to correct the failings in international cooperation that have blighted the response to Covid-19 over the past year. But warm words alone won’t mitigate the severe downside risk posed to the global economy by the very real prospect of a prolonged pandemic in the developing world. “A

17 February 2021 Air France has announced a pilot of ICC AOKpass, to improve its customers’ experience and streamline the airport journey. The four-week test will begin on 11 March 2021 on all Air France flights from Paris-CDG to Pointe-à-Pitre (Guadeloupe) and Fort-de-France (Martinique). It will be done on a voluntary basis, in order to test the operation of the application in real conditions and to collect opinions of test clients. Air France will share the feedback with other companies in the Skyteam alliance currently testing a range of solutions for digitalising health documents. In addition to testing the ICC AOKpass

12 February 2021 New Zealand’s University of Auckland took victory in the 16th edition of the ICC International Commercial Mediation Competition in an all-woman final against Bulgaria’s University of Sofia. The University of New South Wales, Australia took third place, followed by the Brooklyn Law School from the United States in fourth. Watch the final mock mediation The fictitious final dispute between a small textile manufacturer and a distribution company specialising in products for tourists was based on a real-world case and written by Competition professional, Alain Roy. Commenting on the session, professional mediator and Competition Final judge Thomas Valenti said:

6 February 2021 Following the announcement that the US has given its formal backing to Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala to lead the World Trade Organization, ICC has issued the following statement. ICC Secretary General John W.H. Denton AO said: “The global business community will be delighted to learn that the US Administration has given its backing to Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala to take up the position of World Trade Organization Director General. Dr Okonjo-Iweala’s skills and experience make her, without doubt, the ideal candidate to drive concerted action in the WTO to combat the public health and economic effects of the pandemic.   

5 February 2021 ICC’s largest educational event of the year, ICC Mediation Week, begins today and is going digital for the first time in its 16-year history. More than 400 students, ADR professionals, academics and volunteers from almost 40 countries will convene via a custom-built platform, to participate in the annual event, making it the most diverse edition to date. The global health crisis has impacted conflict resolution processes across the globe, challenging commercial partners in their efforts to resolve disputes effectively and efficiently. But despite the obstacles the pandemic has imposed across industries, it has brought an array of opportunities