WTO: 2005 NEWS ITEMS
15 December 2005
HONG KONG MINISTERIAL
The Secretariats of the WTO and UNIDO hold side-event at Hong Kong Ministerial
On the occasion of the WTO 6th Ministerial Meeting in Hong Kong, WTO and UNIDO held a side-event on 15 December 2005 on the implementation of the Joint Cooperation Agreement between WTO and UNIDO and on the UNIDO Cotton Initiative for Africa.
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The side-event brought together representatives of WTO and UNIDO
members attending the Ministerial Meeting, as well as representatives of the
two Secretariats. Representatives of other international organizations
having an interest in these topics also participated. The side-event was
chaired by Ambassador Samuel Amehou (Benin). Panelists included
representatives from the WTO and UNIDO Secretariats and the African Cotton
Association.
On the WTO/UNIDO Joint Cooperation Agreement, opening statements were made
by representatives of the two Secretariats. In a statement on behalf of
Deputy Director-General Valentine Rugwabiza of WTO, the importance that WTO
attached to coherence in trade capacity building initiatives and
partnerships was confirmed, and it was stressed that these joint cooperation
activities fit well within the broader overall objectives of the Doha
negotiations. It had become increasingly apparent that it was not enough to
look only at the trade-related aspects in building the capacities of
developing countries, but supply-side constraints needed to be addressed as
well.
UNIDO's statement reaffirmed its commitment to the Joint Cooperation
Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the WTO, as well as the commitment of
UNIDO's new Director-General to trade capacity building as one of the
fundamental objectives of UNIDO. Commitments made by UNIDO in trade capacity
building now totalled US$ 55 million for TRTACB in 2005, as compared to less
than US$ 8 million of 2002. The project documents for beneficiary countries
were presented. The main priority actions to be taken included:
strengthening supply side capacities, and more specifically tackling
barriers to trade (by strengthening standardization, certification and
accreditation). Moreover, initiatives to provide marketing and technical
information, necessary to facilitate access to markets, were included. UNIDO
would undertake a major fund mobilization effort with donors in order to
finance the projects.
The side-event also focused on the contributions by UNIDO to the
implementation of the WTO Mandate on the development assistance aspects of
cotton. Presentations were made by the WTO and by UNIDO. The WTO statement
reviewed the Director-General's Second Periodic Report to the WTO Membership
on the Development Assistance Aspects of Cotton, which has been circulated
at the Ministerial Conference. UNIDO presented its New Cotton Initiative for
Africa.
Participants seized the opportunity to express their support for the efforts
of the two organizations in the implementation of the cooperation agreement
and of the UNIDO Cotton Initiative, both focused on the supply-side
challenges confronting developing countries. Many expressed an interest in
being included in the programmes of the two Secretariats in the next stage.