CHAIRMAN’S MESSAGE – Sean Edwards, ITFA Chairman / Head of Legal and Special Adviser to The Global Trade Finance Department At SMBC, Feb 2022

Dear Members and Friends,

Porto here we come! As I am sure most of you are aware, this year’s conference, the 48^th edition, will be held in the magical city of Porto, between the 7^th and 9^th September. This year we are also glad to re-introduce our Educational Seminar on Trade Finance which will begin on the afternoon of Tuesday 6th September and conclude at lunchtime on the 7th September, immediately prior to the opening of the Conference. Under the helm of Simon Cook, our most recently elected Board Member responsible for the Education, we will be holding a course for junior staff or those new to trade, which will cover a broad range of trade and supply chain finance, and will be a valuable learning opportunity.

Despite the fact that we plan to launch the conference website later on during the course of Q1, the call for Conference Sponsorships is already open. Whilst we take the opportunity to thank the already impressive number of members who have pledged their support, we invite everyone to review the latest sponsorship brochure by clicking here. For more information you may send us an email on info@itfa.org.

For the very first time, we will also be giving the ITFA Fintech community an opportunity to showcase their product by booking a dedicated space at the conference hotel for the duration of the conference. More information can be found here.

Stay tuned for more information about our iconic annual event!

Back to world news, one cannot ignore the increasing build up which we are experiencing in Eastern Europe. With President Biden calling for American citizens to leave the country immediately, the world remains on the alert! Here at ITFA, we are following this event closely and are currently planning a related webinar with particular focus on sanctions. More details will follow from this end.

Best wishes

Sean Edwards