ICN Annual Conference in Porto, Portugal

The annual conference of the International Competition Network (ICN) is underway in Porto, Portugal. The three day conference brings together at least 600 delegates from more than 130 competition agencies around the world to dialogue on competition law and policy. The agencies and international organisations share best practices on competition enforcement and advocacy, and younger authorities like Botswana learn from the older established agencies. 

Welcoming delegates to the conference on 10th May 2017, the Portuguese Minister of  Economy Mr. Manuel Caldeira Cabral said competition is important in enabling fair prices for consumers and stimulating economic growth. He said competition and the independence of a competition agency are key factors in instilling investor confidence and  facilitating new market entrants and jobs. It's the role of government to ensure the independence of competition authorities, Cabral said. 

Delegates at the conference will share experiences on four major themes; advocacy, agency effectiveness, cartels, mergers,  unilateral conduct as well as soecial projects.Topics under discussion at the  conference include: proactive outreach strategies for deterrrence, social media and website strategies for  agency communication, online vertical restraints, challenges of big data and unilateral conduct, public interest considerations in merger review, and international cooperation in tackling cross border and global cartels. 

 

Botswana is represented at the conference by delegates from the Competition Authority and the Competition Commission.