Our task now is to match political promise with negotiating performance” - WTO Director- General Pascal Lamy said in his report to the General Council on 28 July 2009
28 Jul 2009
I am pleased that this session provides you the opportunity to gain an overall picture of the WTO's work, in which the interests of the LDCs figure prominently.
Thank you Mr. Chairman.
Let me start by welcoming today the participants to the WTO introductory course for Least Developed Countries who have the opportunity to attend this General Council meeting. I am pleased that this session provides you the opportunity to gain an overall picture of the WTO's work, in which the interests of the LDCs figure prominently.
Since my last report, the TNC [Trade Negotiations Committee] has held one informal meeting on 24 July. The purpose of this meeting was to discuss the situation and next steps in the Doha Development Agenda negotiations. My remarks at that meeting were made available to delegations in document JOB(09)/84. I am requesting that they be included in the minutes of this General Council meeting. I will not repeat all the details, but I would like to recall some of the points that were made and build on the common threads that emerged in our dialogue.
I provided delegations with an account of my recent contacts at political level and the renewed impetus that leaders have given the DDA with the call that the Round be concluded in 2010. I then set out an overview of the state of play in each of the negotiating areas as well as an insight into the road maps envisaged by Chairs of Negotiating Groups in the weeks after the summer break.
Whether these are roadmaps, train timetables or GPS, to use the terminology evoked last Friday, whether they start in Versoix, in Vevey or in Carouge, what I heard from you on Friday is that all of them point in one and the same direction: a conclusion of the Doha Round next year.
In the lengthy, and I believe productive, discussion, there was unanimous agreement that if we are to get to our destination on time, the renewed level of political re-engagement by leaders urgently required translation into tangible progress in the negotiations.
There was also strong support for the process set out in the detailed road maps and for the need for all participants to be ready to work intensively in the autumn. The message was “all hands on deck”.
While the need to work at all levels, including the bilateral level, was recognized, the primacy of the multilateral arena was stressed by delegations. Various views were expressed about the possible impact of bilaterals on the speed and transparency of multilateral decision-making. But there was wide agreement that bilateral engagement should be no reason for slowing or holding up the multilateral process; the two have to move simultaneously. It was also noted that bilaterals should not go on too long, and should be conducted with the maximum possible transparency.
Source: WTO
