Addressing a meeting of the Special Session of the Committee on Trade and Development on 8 February, Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala emphasized the need to deliver development-related outcomes at the 13th Ministerial Conference (MC13), scheduled to take place in Abu Dhabi from 26 to 29 February.
Discussions are focusing on putting into operation the flexibilities for developing economies contained in WTO agreements, so that these economies may play a more active part in international trade.
"Development has a central place in the WTO's work", DG Okonjo-Iweala said. "We need to respond to the needs and concerns of developing countries that account for two-thirds of the WTO membership. … Beyond the agreements we already have, we also see opportunities for developing countries to take advantage of what we are calling 're-globalization' and the decentralization of supply chains."
The 10 Agreement-specific proposals tabled by the WTO G90 group of developing WTO members seek to strengthen existing flexibilities for developing members contained in WTO agreements, otherwise known as “special and differential treatment”, and to make them more precise, effective and operational. At the meeting, the chair of the Special Session, Ambassador Kadra Ahmed Hassan of Djibouti, appointed representatives from Brazil and from Saint Vincent and the Grenadines respectively, to facilitate discussions on two proposals by the G90 group concerning the Agreement on Trade-Related Investment Measures (TRIMS) and Article 66.2 (Least-Developed Country Members) of the Agreement on Trade-related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS).
In March 2023, members agreed to the G90's proposition to hold focused discussions on each of the ten Agreement-specific proposals. The G90 confirmed its intention to circulate additional communications relating to its other proposals promptly.
Stating in her concluding remarks that "there is a lot of work in front of us", Ambassador Hassan called on members to "continue this work until and after MC13." She added, "The world is waiting and watching the WTO delivering on development.
I believe that with the right amount of political will, commitment and pragmatism we can do it, and we have to do it right."
