Azevêdo:”Many pending Bali issues are political, capitals must be continuously engaged”
WTO News, 23 September, 2013
WTO Director-General Roberto Azevêdo, in his first statement to the Trade Negotiations Committee as chair, said: The Bali Ministerial meeting is in about 10 weeks; yes only 10 weeks. We have to expedite our negotiations and work more intensely. The absolute need for close and more political effort cannot be understated. I want to see capitals continuously engaged and I will be delivering this message to Ministers as well. As you all know, looking at developments across the world and more importantly for the credibility of this Organization’s negotiating function, we cannot afford to fail. More…
Azevêdo welcomes progress on Bali issues
WTO News, 20 September, 2013
WTO Director-General Roberto Azevêdo has welcomed the involvement of Senior Officials from capitals in a meeting in Geneva yesterday (19 September 2013) to advance preparations for the 9th Ministerial Conference to be held in Bali, 3-6 December. The Senior Officials meeting follows an intensification of work on Bali issues since the Director-General assumed his new role at the beginning of September. The first cycle of these meetings will conclude with a meeting of the Trade Negotiations Committee on 23 September. More…
Azevêdo launches “rolling set of meetings” aimed at delivering success in Bali
WTO News, 09 September, 2013
Director-General Roberto Azevêdo, in his inaugural speech to the WTO General Council on 9 September 2013, said “my full priority will be to ensure that we have a successfully negotiated outcome in our 9th Ministerial Conference”. He said: “Time is short. Our work must start here and now. That’s why I will be commencing intensive consultations with members immediately, starting this week…This will be in a variety of formats and configurations at Ambassador level. We will focus on the three key areas of trade facilitation, development and some elements of agriculture. ” More…