ZCZC
BSS-34
INDIA-WTO-MEET
WTO Commerce Ministerial meeting began in New Delhi
By Aminul Islam Mirja
NEW DELHI, May 13, 2019 (BSS) – India today said the collapse of WTO’s
appellate body for dispute settlement and the reform agenda being pushed by
certain developed economies could harm the interest of developing countries
as a two-day Commerce Ministerial Meeting of World Trade Organisation began
here.
“The logjam in the appellate body is a serious threat to the dispute
settlement mechanism of the WTO and the implementation function of the
organisation,” Indian Commerce Secretary Anup Wadhawan said at the senior
officials meeting to review key issues and challenges facing the multi-
lateral trading system.
He said the continuous rise in protectionist measures was vitiating the
global economic environment and this “situation does not bode well for
developing countries”.
Wadhawan welcomed the participating delegation to the meeting urging them
to find a solution to the ongoing impasse in the WTO Appellate Body on an
urgent basis.
The today’s senior officials’ discussions will feed into the ministers’
deliberations tomorrow, officials said today.
He said India believes that developing countries need to work together to
protect their interests in the WTO negotiations through preservation of the
core fundamental principles of the WTO.
“The two-day meet gives an opportunity to the participating countries of
developing a shared WTO reform proposal on issues of priority and interest
for developing countries,” he added.
The meeting is being held at a time when the multilateral rule-based-
trading system is facing serious and grave challenges.
The commerce minister level meeting will be held tomorrow as commerce
ministers and vice- ministers of 22 WTO-member states including Bangladesh
will participate. Commerce Minister Tipu Munshi is leading a four member
Bangladesh delegation that comprised of DG (BD), WTO Munir Chowdhury, Member
of Tariff Commission Dr. Mostafa Abid and WTO Deputy Director (Bangladesh)
Md. Khalilur Rahman to the meeting.
Munshi along with the members of his delegation arrived here yesterday to
join the meeting.
The participating countries are-Argentina, Bangladesh, Barbados, Benin,
Brazil, Central African Republic (CAR), Chad, China, Egypt, Guatemala,
Guyana, Indonesia, Jamaica, Kazakhstan, Malawi, Malaysia, Nigeria, Oman,
Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Turkey and Uganda. The two-day meeting will be
interactive in order to provide an opportunity to the ministers to discuss
various issues and the way forward.
Among other issues, finding a solution to the ongoing impasse in the
Appellate Body on an urgent basis and issues of importance and priority for
developing countries including LDCs in the reform agenda would get prominence
in the discussion of the two-day meeting, officials said.
BSS/AIM/AR/1955 hrs