Minister attends international small business conference

Minister for Small Business John Tamihere is to attend the second OECD Conference of Ministers Responsible for Small and Medium Enterprises, to be held in Istanbul from June 3-5.

The theme of the conference is "Promoting entrepeneurship and innovative SMEs in a global economy," and Mr Tamihere says the conference will be a valuable opportunity to share ideas with his international counterparts on how to best foster small business success.

The Istanbul conference will bring together about 800 participants from OECD and non-OECD countries and will extend the Bologna Charter on SME policies adopted by the inaugural ministerial conference on SMEs.

The objectives of the conference are to: Assess the impact on SMEs of new developments in globalisation in the four years since Bologna. Increase understanding of issues relating to SME competitiveness and growth in the global economy. Identify best practices and develop policy recommendations. Strengthen dialogue and co-operation between countries. Agree on policy initiatives to enhance entrepeneurial activity and SME competitiveness.

In the lead-up to the conference the OECD has commissioned major research on strengthening SMEs that will be published as part of the ministerial proceedings.

Mr Tamihere will present New Zealand's perspective on key policy initiatives at a conference workshop on Entrepeneurship and SME Innovation.

Following the conference Mr Tamihere will also visit the United Kingdom's Small Business Service and discuss SME policy and the UK's business compliance cost reduction programme.

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