Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, April 23, 1994 TAG: 9404250154
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-2 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: By KEN DAVIS STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: BLACKSBURG LENGTH: Medium
The conference, which will take place Monday through Wednesday at the Donaldson Brown Hotel and Conference Center on the Virginia Tech campus, is being held to encourage trade between state and international firms.
"The conference is for any Virginia businesses interested in participating in the global economy," said Clara Cox, a university spokesperson.
The conference will include the 10 nations in the South African Development Community - Angola, Botswana, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Swaziland, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe - as well as the nation of South Africa.
In addition to African business and political representatives, Cox said educational leaders also will attend the conference in order to promote the link between business and education.
"It's a cultural exchange," she said. "The university is always interested in giving students a global perspective and establishing a link so that relations can be pursued."
Cox said 125 participants will take part in the three-day event, which will feature seminars on everything from setting up transportation and communication systems to learning the "ABC's of international trade."
Tech has held similar conferences the past three years, each dealing with a different country or different part of the world.
Last year's conference between firms in the United States and China generated $2.5 million in sales, a figure that is expected to rise to more than $5 million within the next two years.
University officials held this year's conference with Southern Africa because of former Virginia Gov. Douglas Wilder's attempts to encourage state and local trade with the region.
"It was thought that once these elections were held, South Africa, for example, would open up to trade after everything has calmed down," Cox said.
Members of the business community who are interested in taking part in the conference can call the conference registrar at 231-9340.
by CNB