The WSYE has a rich and successful history that includes 9 prior summits. Past events have drawn more than 2,100 delegates, and created more than 350 joint ventures ranging from US$20,000 to US$35,000,000.

• Although net capital inflows to the developing countries increased, net resource flows were negative.
• The net transfer of financial resources from developing countries reached an unprecedented $192 billion in 2002.

Unlike Latin America, the Asian economies generated large current-account surpluses through a rapid expansion of exports. The total current-account surplus in Asia exceeded $100 billion, with China and India together accounting for some $28 billion and the first-tier NIEs (excluding Hong Kong, China) for $51 billion.

• In Latin America, recent trends in international capital flows and resource transfers are reminiscent of the conditions prevailing during the debt crisis of the 1980s.
• In Africa, the volume of both imports and exports rose by 2.6 per cent despite weak demand from Western Europe, Africa’s main trading partner. The region as a whole experienced a deterioration in its terms of trade for a second consecutive year, with import growth exceeding export growth in value terms by a wide margin.

• Trade is expected to expand much faster in the developing world than in the industrialized countries.
• Significant changes can be expected in the patterns of trade and trade balances across countries in view of rapid shifts in the exchange rates.
• Trade liberalization and global economic integration are greatly facilitated by expansion of economic activity and employment, and by improvements in living standards.
• The rapid expansion of trade and further trade liberalization depend crucially on a rapid recovery of the world economy rather than the other way round.

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