Activities

The Incoterms between 2000 and 2010

Damascus - Syria

Under the patronage of Dr. Eng. Yarob Suleiman Badr, the Syrian Minister of Transport, ICC Syria held a symposium entitled 'The Incoterms between 2000 and 2010, Amendments and Developments', at the Four Seasons Hotel, Damascus, on February, 17, 2010.

Experts from the International Chamber of Commerce in Paris lectured at the symposium, including Mr. Christoph Martin Radtke, Chairman of the committee that is reviewing the 2000 Incoterms, and Emily O'Connor, who administers the Commercial and Practices Commission and who also supervises reviewing the rules of the 2000 Incoterms.

In his opening speech, Minister Badr spoke of the importance of terminology in clarifying commercial contracts and identifying the mechanisms and rules to be followed between buyers and sellers. He stressed the need to know these terms especially in light of the regional and international agreements Syria is currently entering.

Minister Badr talked about the importance of the amendments being carried out by the ICC, of which entry patterns, electronic commerce, and buyer and seller responsibilities were included. Badr cited the synchronization of amending these terms with the efforts of the Syrian Ministry of Transportation to regulate the transport of goods. "We are seeking to pass a new law for the transfer of goods and applying the electronic administration in the Syrian ports," the Minister said.

Dr. Abdul Rahman Attar, President of ICC Syria, also spoke of the Chamber's objective to becoming Syria's window to the world. Dr. Attar stressed the importance of incoterms in determining the responsibilities between sellers, buyers, carriers, and insurance companies. He indicated that an acute awareness of these terms helps to reduce misunderstandings between these parties.

For his part, Dr. Rateb Shallah, the Chairman of Syrian Enterprise and Business Centre, spoke of the private sector's participation with the government in making decisions related to trade, especially in the light of the openness of the global economy. Dr. Shallah said that the amendments on the Incoterms 2000 come in the context of efforts to secure the requirements of economic openness.

The lecturers also made a presentation about the 13 rules of Incoterms explaining the responsibilities of buyers and sellers in accordance with those rules, the risk transmission and how to choose the item or "term" appropriate.