Davos, Jan 20 (PTI) A group of trade ministers from various countries discussed fresh WTO negotiations here on Friday while stressing the importance of restoring a fully functional dispute settlement system.
The informal ministerial meeting, held on the sidelines of the Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum, was held at the invitation of Swiss Federal Counselor Guy Parmelin and was also attended by WTO Director General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala.
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The meeting was attended by 23 WTO members and represented a broad spectrum of trade interests, the Swiss government said in a statement.
Following the Ministerial Conference in Geneva last June, participants at the next WTO Ministerial Conference in Abu Dhabi in February 2024 hope to see some key outcomes of the negotiations to strengthen the WTO and the international trading system.
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Following the results of the 12th WTO Ministerial Conference held in Geneva, ministers discussed their priorities for the next stages of the negotiations on Friday.
“The focus was on the implementation of the Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies, Trade and Health Issues in the context of the COVID-19 crisis and ongoing efforts to reform the WTO,” he say the Swiss government.
Discussions also focused on the development of existing WTO rules, as well as measures to improve transparency in the implementation of WTO agreements.
“Participants stressed the importance of restoring a fully functional dispute settlement mechanism to the global trading system,” the statement added.
The informal ministerial meeting provided an opportunity to provide political direction and impetus to preparations for the 13th WTO Ministerial Conference to be held in Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates in February 2024, he further said.
Switzerland’s trade policy, which is closely integrated into international value chains, is based on the rules-based multilateral trading system of the WTO, the Swiss government said.
In a separate statement, the Swiss government said Switzerland became the first member of the World Trade Organization (WTO) to ratify the Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies.
The agreement prohibits harmful subsidies to marine wild-catch fisheries and makes an important contribution to the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals.
Switzerland’s swift ratification will help the agreement have its positive effects soon, he added.
Federal Counselor Guy Parmelin presented the country’s instrument of acceptance to WTO Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala on the sidelines of the WEF annual meeting in Davos.
Negotiations on fisheries subsidies were concluded on 17 June 2022 at the 12th WTO Ministerial Conference. The Federal Council approved the Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies for Switzerland on 16 November 2022.
“The agreement represents a major step forward for the sustainable use of marine resources. It bans subsidies for illegal, unreported and unregulated marine capture fisheries, as well as for fishing in overexploited stocks and for to unregulated high seas fishing,” he said. .
The agreement will enter into force once two-thirds of the 164 members have deposited their instruments of acceptance at the WTO.
(This is an unedited, auto-generated story from the syndicated news feed, the body of the content may not have been modified or edited by LatestLY staff)
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