Damien O’Connor, to discuss outcomes of the MC12 and priorities on fisheries subsidies.Ī bilateral meeting was also held with Australia’s Minister of Trade and Tourism, Senator Hon. The Foreign Ministers also engaged in discussions on increasing Small Islands Developing States (SIDS) engagement in the multilateral fora.įoreign Minister Manele also held a bilateral with New Zealand’s Minister of Trade and Export Growth, Hon. Kamina Johnson Smith, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade of Jamaica, who presented her candidacy for the post of Secretary-General of the Commonwealth. The Foreign Minister held a bilateral meeting with Senator, Hon.
The MC12 concluded with key trade outcomes including, a progressive agreement on Fisheries Subsidies, WTO Reforms, WTO Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic, Food Security and Agriculture, and on E-Commerce.įoreign Minister Manele also held several bilateral meetings and engagements with key development partners in the margins of the MC12.
Jeremiah Manele concluded his participation at the World Trade Organization (WTO) Twelfth Ministerial Conference (MC12) after the conference was extended by an additional day, in Geneva, Switzerland. Santiago Wills, the Colombian WTO ambassador who chairs the fishing subsidy talks, said the news was "deflating, to say the least", but pledged to keep working towards an agreement to save global fish stocks.Minister of Foreign Affairs and External Trade Hon. This new variant reminds us once again of the urgency of the work we are charged with," she said in a statement. "On the contrary, delegations in Geneva should be fully empowered to close as many gaps as possible. WTO Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala said the postponement did not mean negotiations should stop. President Joe Biden said on Friday he supported a waiver for vaccines. India, South Africa and other developing countries are calling for a waiver of intellectual property (IP) rights for vaccines and other COVID-19 treatments.
#Wto next meeting update
The WTO has only managed one update of its global rules in its near 27-year history, the red tape-cutting Trade Facilitation Agreement, and its 164 members looked far from agreement in its most active talks - on curbing fishing subsidies and spreading COVID-19 vaccines more widely.
The Geneva-based trade body had planned a meeting in person, but the new restrictions meant delegations of large players such as South Africa and the Brussels-based European Commission would have been limited to a largely virtual presence.Įven before the postponement the prospects were not bright. Switzerland, home to the WTO, on Friday banned direct flights from South Africa and the surrounding region, and imposed test and quarantine requirements on travel from other countries, including Belgium, Hong Kong and Israel. Scientists are also seeking to find out if it is vaccine-resistant. The World Health Organisation has classified the B.1.1.529variant detected in South Africa as a "variant of concern", saying it may spread more quickly than other forms of the virus. No new date has been set for a rescheduled meeting.
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