Thank you Chair. Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen,
We convened MC13 against an international backdrop marked by greater uncertainty than at any time I can remember. During the long hours of negotiation here, we saw moments of difficult but rewarding cooperation, as Ministers overcame intense disagreement, engaged in tough discussions, and found common ground. The beauty of the WTO is that each member has an equal voice, but that also comes at a cost. Nevertheless, we are a unique organization and I think the cost is worth it. Let’s keep going so that we can make all voices heard!
I want to express my deepest gratitude to our patient and solutions-oriented MC13 Chair, H.E. Dr Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi, Minister of State for Foreign Trade of the UAE, and to the government and people of the UAE for the incredible hospitality extended to all of us this week.
I also want to thank our Vice-Chairs – and I am going to name them all – Hon. Todd McClay, Minister for Agriculture, Forestry, Hunting and Fishing, and Trade of New Zealand; H.E. Jorge Rivera Staff, Minister of Trade and Industry of Panama; and Minister-Facilitators, H.E. Espen Barth Eide, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Norway; H.E. Kerrie Symmonds, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Barbados; H.E. Rebecca Miano, Cabinet Secretary for the Ministry of Investment, Trade, and Industry of Kenya; and H.E. Martin Eyjólfsson, Permanent Secretary of State, Iceland.
Through day and night — and there was a lot of the latter — Ministers and our Chair could count on the support of convergence-building facilitators H.E. Mr. Mmusi Kgafela — Minister of Trade and Industry of Botswana; H.E. Ms Mary Ng — Minister of Small Business and Export Promotion of Canada; H.E. Mr. Manuel Tovar Rivera — Minister of Trade of Costa Rica; H.E. Mr. Maneesh Gobin — Minister of Foreign Affairs, Regional Integration and International Trade of Mauritius; H.E. Mr. Leota Laki Lamositele — Minister of Trade Negotiations of Samoa; H.E. Mr Kim Yong Gan — Minister of Trade and Industry of Singapore; H.E. Mr. Tim Ayres — Assistant Minister for Trade and Tourism of Australia, and H.E. Ambassador Dacio Castillo — Permanent Representative to the WTO of Honduras.
I want to thank all our Chairs of the various negotiating bodies who have worked so hard and tirelessly, not just here but also in Geneva. I also want to thank my sister Her Excellency Ambassador Athaliah Molokomme of Botswana, for her work as General Council Chairperson, and especially the pivotal role she played in Geneva to lay the groundwork for productive engagement by ministers this week.
I would like to ask a favour, to ask all the negotiating Chairs who came from Geneva if they could kindly stand up, please (applause) Thank you.
I want to also thank the hard-working staff of ADNEC (applause). And now you must indulge me because I am so proud of the staff of the WTO led by DDG Ellard, who have managed this Conference both here and in Geneva (applause). I now want to make a personal thank you. There is someone in this room, who has been day and night with me throughout the week, and that is my husband Doctor Dr Ikemba Iweala (applause).
Excellencies, we have worked hard this week. We have achieved some important things and we have not managed to complete others. Nevertheless, we moved those pieces of work in an important way.
At the same time, we have delivered some milestone achievements for the WTO — and laid the groundwork for more.
For the first time, Ministers engaged in conversations on how trade relates to two pressing issues that go to the heart of the political, economic and environmental challenges you face at home, namely sustainable development and socioeconomic inclusion. Organizing an interactive dialogue in a Ministerial Conference was an innovation, but it paid off. Ministers had a high demand to freely exchange perspectives, listened to each other, got a better understanding of each other’s views and experiences.
You recognized the role trade, and the WTO can play in empowering women, expanding opportunities for micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises, and achieving sustainable development in its three dimensions — economic, social and environmental. You grappled with the diversity of the Membership and the problems each of you face, and opened a potential door for deeper discussions on issues such as trade and industrial policy, policy space for industrial development, sustainable agriculture, and trade and inclusion.
For the first time since the mandate 23 years ago to review Special and Differential Treatment provisions for developing and least developed countries with a view to making them more precise, effective and operational, you agreed to a Ministerial Decision that would advance that goal. This is a win for development, one that will enable developing countries, especially LDCs, to fulfil their WTO commitments, exercise their rights, and better integrate into global trade.
Momentum behind the Fisheries Subsidies Agreement continued to pick up pace, even today. We now have 71 formal acceptances, including 11 this week. South Africa gave us a lovely closing present. This puts entry into force firmly within reach by mid-year, within a record of two years. And yes, it matters because we must safeguard the sustainability of our oceans.
Members also agreed on concrete measures to smooth the path to graduation for least-developed countries.
And of course, we welcomed two accessions, a vote of confidence in the rules-based trading system. Comoros and Timor-Leste will bring our membership to 166 — closer to universality. And we can look forward to 22 more accession requests. This should remind you of the value attached to being a member of this organisation.
We also celebrated the entry into force of new disciplines on services domestic regulation. This has long been in the making and will serve to make the regulatory environment for services more streamlined for business. For the first time we have an agreement at the WTO that provides for gender equality between men and women in access to services jobs. Again, I would like to thank the EU, India and South Africa, and all the members that worked to make this a possibility.
123 members launched the Investment Facilitation for Development (IFD) Agreement which promises to sweep away barriers in front of domestic and foreign investment. As developing countries look for policy space, they will attract needed investments that can make that policy space happen. I understand that discussions on the legal aspect of inserting this into the WTO framework will continue in Geneva. This is a win for developing countries.
We had several successful side events including the WTO ITC High Level Event on Women and Trade, where we launched a 50 million-dollar fund to economically empower women entrepreneurs by leveraging the potential of digitalisation to help them access global value chains. Thankyou Your Excellency Dr Al Zeyoudi and the UAE for launching our Digital Women Fund with a generous donation of 5 million dollars. Together with the World Bank, we also hosted the Digital Trade for Africa event as part of our work to help African countries bridge the digital divide so as to benefit from digital trade. The World Bank is prepared to put serious money, billions of dollars behind this. We are working with them to support hard and soft digital infrastructure and regulatory frameworks for 9 pilot countries. We also had a very successful side event on cotton, for the Cotton 4 plus, with FIFA and other partners, to enable these countries to tap into the value chain in Africa and tap into a $270 billion global sports apparel market.
On dispute settlement reform we made progress with contributions from most members. Here I want to pay tribute again to the work of Marco Molina, former Guatemalan DPR, but I also wanted to pay tribute to all of you who also produced work, so we have several works that are contributing to this, and we hope to continue to roll up our sleeves to advance this reform.
On agriculture, this has been in the works for the past two decades plus. At MC12 we couldn’t even agree on a text. Even though there are challenges, for the first time we have a text. We couldn’t finish the work on it here. So let’s go back to Geneva and deliver!
And deliver, Excellencies, is what we must do.
On the E Commerce Moratorium and Work Programme, we have managed to reach consensus, along with the TRIPS non violation and situation complaints..
In the second wave of fisheries subsidies negotiations, you narrowed some outstanding gaps. But several more remain. While I had hoped that we could finish these negotiations in Abu Dhabi, you have prepared the ground for its conclusion moving out from here. This is good because the livelihood of 260 million people who depend directly or indirectly on marine fisheries is at stake. We should capitalize on the progress here to reach a meaningful outcome.
The path to progress is seldom linear. The WTO remains a source of stability and resilience in an economic and geopolitical landscape fraught with uncertainties and exogenous shocks. Trade remains a vital force for improving people’s lives, and for helping businesses and countries cope with the impact of these shocks.
It’s been a long week, so let me conclude. I once again want to thank the UAE for their kindness and hospitality which will be unforgettable. I end with a quote accredited to Winston Churchill. He said, and I quote, “success is not final, failure is not fatal, it is the courage to continue that counts”. Thank you all.
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