WTO Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala during a bilateral meeting with Kenyan officials, commended Kenya for a successful Africa Climate Summit hosted in Nairobi last month.
The WTO DG was speaking on the sidelines of the Gateway Forum 2023 in Brussels, Belgium, where she also commended Kenya’s President, William Ruto for ensuring a successful Africa Climate Summit.
She further stated that the successful Africa Climate summit in Nairobi, galvanised and solidified the continental position on Climate Change ahead of COP28 in the United Arab Emirates later this year.
The Director General was holding discussion that centered on opportunities of sustainably exploiting the Blue Economy, a key resource for wealth creation.
WTO is currently taking part in the Global Gateway Forum in Brussels, Belgium. The forum is bringing together representatives of governments from the European Union and from around the world.
At the same time, the private sector, civil society, leading thinkers, financing institutions, and international organization’s have been invited in a two-day, invitation event in Brussels on 25 and 26 October 2023.
Also Read: EU, Kenya Trade: Negotiations for Economic Partnership Agreement Conclude in Nairobi
WTO and Senior Officials Meeting paves way for progress on deliverables at MC13
A two-day meeting of senior trade officials concluded at the WTO on 24 October. The meeting ended with encouraging signs that negotiators in Geneva will have the political backing to achieve outcomes at their upcoming 13th Ministerial Conference (MC13) early next year
The Senior Officials Meeting served as an important milestone in the preparations for the WTO’s 13th Ministerial Conference (MC13). The conference will be held in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, from 26 to 29 February 2024.
The aim of the meeting was to take stock of progress on issues on the negotiating agenda. The officials also made decisions by solvint specific problems. Delegates also sought to point the way to possible deliverables for MC13. The also looked at ways on how to provide political guidance and support for the ministerial preparations, while also looking at how to deliberate on pressing global issues.
At the start of the Senior Officials Meeting, WTO members met in a special General Council meeting. After the meeting, officials adopted a decision to assist least-developed countries (LDCs) on the path to graduation from LDC status.
“With this decision, the WTO is sending a strong political signal that we can deliver for our most vulnerable members and help them achieve their development objectives,” the Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala stated.
During the two-day meeting, senior officials also had the opportunity to engage with each other. The officials engaged on WTO members’ priority areas in various configurations. These included plenary meetings of the full membership, breakout sessions on specific issues and bilateral talks.
At the same time they also engaged in group coordination meetings, and consultations with the chairs or facilitators of negotiations.
Also Read: Push for Africa’s Unified Currency Gains Momentum to Promote Free Trade
About World Trade Organization
The World Trade Organization (WTO) is the only global international organization dealing with the rules of trade between nations.
WTO mainly deals with trade agreements. However, it also negotiates and signs them with nations and their parliaments. The goal is to ensure that trade flows as smoothly, predictably and freely as possible.
Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala is the seventh Director-General of the WTO. She took office on 1 March 2021, becoming the first woman and the first African to serve as Director-General. Her term of office will expire on 31 August 2025.
WTO, formally known as the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT). Peter Sutherland became the last director-general of GATT and the first of the WTO.