During a General Council meeting on 20 and 21 May, the Director-General, who is also Chair of the Trade Negotiations Committee (TNC), revealed that WTO reform was a central theme in her recent meetings with leaders of Japan and Republic of Korea.
"Prime Minister Ishiba (of Japan) and his ministers of Trade, Foreign Affairs and Finance, along with virtually all the ministers of the APEC with whom I met in Jeju, have shared the idea that we should not waste a crisis and that we need a deep and comprehensive reform of the WTO "so that it remains relevant," said Director-General Okonjo-Iweala.
The urgency of the situation was reiterated by Okonjo-Iweala when she stated: “For CM14 to be successful, we must act here in Geneve to present a package of reform proposals for the ministers to consider and approve at CM14. Only this can reposition this organization in the necessary form and format."
The Director-General also lamented the persistence of unresolved problems within the organization. “Members continue to hide problems and fail to address them,” she stated. “I believe that what has brought us to this point is the inability to resolve them when they arise, which has led to unilateral actions rather than a cooperative approach.” She added that “it has taken members time to admit that things are not working as well as they should and that they are seeking solutions.”
Despite the challenges, the Director-General expressed optimism about the progress of work leading up to MC14, which includes issues such as fisheries subsidies, agriculture, investment facilitation for development, e-commerce, and issues related to least-developed countries (LDCs). She also welcomed the progress in the acceptance of the Fisheries Subsidies Agreement, with 99 members having already accepted it, and only 12 more needed for its entry into force.
The President of the General Council, Ambassador Saqer Abdullah Almoqbel (Kingdom of Saudi Arabia), He announced that he will begin consultations on how to move forward in three key areas leading up to the 14th World Conference: WTO reform, reform of the dispute settlement system, and the preparation of a possible outcome document for the Conference. With only 10 months until the 14th World Conference, “time is of the essence,” Ambassador Almoqbel concluded.
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