WTO chief calls for solutions ahead of Nairobi conference

The World Trade Organisation (WTO) director general Roberto Azevêdo has called for solutions to the remaining issues of the Doha Development Agenda ahead of the 10th Ministerial Conference scheduled for December 15-18 in Nairobi, Kenya. The potential emerging deliverables for the Nairobi conference include LDC and development outcomes on export competition in agriculture, and a number of provisions to improve transparency in several issues being negotiated, Azevêdo said. “The view emerging from many of the meetings in which I have participated is that a set of deliverables is within reach which has the potential to make the Ministerial Conference a success and to help us move our work forward. And, crucially, there is the common view that those deliverables should have development and LDC issues at their heart,” he said. Azevêdo was addressing a meeting of all WTO members in Geneva on Thursday to report on the current state of play in negotiations on the remaining issues of the Doha Development Agenda. He urged members to seize the opportunity that Nairobi represents, saying the conference should deliver substantive support for growth and development. “Time is short. It is essential that we have an answer to this question within the next month. Once we have a clear picture of what the Nairobi outcomes might look like, then we can work hard to deliver them,” he said. Azevêdo is expected to continue consultations at forthcoming meetings of the G20, the African Union, the African Caribbean and Pacific Group of States, and of Arab Trade Ministers. He will attend the UN General Assembly next week to discuss the role that trade can play in the new sustainable development goals - starting with outcomes in Nairobi. business@newtimes.co.rw

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WTO chief calls for solutions ahead of Nairobi conference