The 10th Ministerial conference (MC10) of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) began in the Kenyan capital of Nairobi yesterday, with a call to the members to show flexibility in negotiation on the Doha Development Agenda (DDA) that continued for a period of over 14 years without conclusion.
President of Kenya Uhuru Kenyatta announced the opening of the four-day conference amid wide differences among the members.
The first conference in the African continent would consider over a dozen separate issues still under consideration. The core issues under negotiation as part of the Doha Round are Agriculture, NAMA, Development, Rules and Services.
The ministers this week would also approve the accession packages of two new members – Liberia and Afghanistan.
In addition, the members were working to advance the Environmental Goods Agreement. There is a possibility of expansion of the Information Technology Agreement, which could make a significant breakthrough in a trillion dollar deal.
Conference Chairperson Amina Mohamed, also Kenya’s cabinet secretary of Foreign Affairs and Trade, urged members and all relevant stakeholders to engage constructively for bridging gaps in the negotiations.
“We have a defining moment ahead of us,” she told the opening press conference, urging members to strengthen their engagement for decisions which will determine the forward path of global trade negotiation. She stressed the need for political will to bridge the gaps.
“… to succeed, all members will have to be flexible, realistic and ready to engage,” said WTO Director-General Roberto Azevedo.
Members of the WTO are negotiating for 14 years under the Doha Development Agenda (DDA) for opening new markets and liberalising trade in agriculture, industrial products and services with setting the rules of the world trade.
But, developed countries were pressing for discontinuation of negotiation on the DDA while the developing and least developed ones want to conclude the round successfully. There is also difference among the countries on introducing new issues like labour and environment in the multilateral trade regime.
Bangladesh Commerce Minister Tofail Ahmed is leading a 21-member delegation to the conference.
This Ministerial Conference also marks the 20th anniversary of the WTO. At the last Ministerial, held two years ago, the biggest success of the WTO’s 20-year history was delivered as “the Bali Package.” It contained a range of vital measures on agriculture, food security and development – and it brought the organisation’s first multilateral agreement: the Trade Facilitation Agreement.
Bali was a major breakthrough for negotiating work. After that, everything that were negotiating before – in the context of the Doha Round – was back on the table.
“We have been working very hard since then to advance these issues as far as possible. Some issues proved to be quite difficult to tackle, and progress was impossible on many of the key issues, despite our efforts to be creative and open-minded,” said the WTO DG.
The trade negotiators in Geneva, where the WTO headquarters is located, were still working to finalise deals.
On Monday, a pledging conference was held for the Enhanced Integrated Framework, ensuring that it can continue to deliver effective support to help build LDCs’ capacity to trade for years to come.
“So I think we have a very interesting and very meaningful agenda here in Nairobi. And I think that there is a real will among the membership to deliver some meaningful outcomes, particularly for the least-developed countries and for Africa,” said Azevedo.
“We have a lot of hard work ahead in the coming days. And while we strive to deliver here in Nairobi, we must also be looking to the future,” he said.
