Bali Ministerial, Major Boost for Multilateral Trade Systems: WTO

New Delhi, Jan 29, IRNA - The outcome of the WTO Ministerial Meeting in Bali, Indonesia in December 2013 resurrected world’s confidence in multilateral trade systems, said the World Trade Organization (WTO) Director General, Roberto Azevedo Tuesday in Bangalore. Azevedo made the remarks in his address on ‘Entering into a New Trade Era Post Bali’ on the second day of the three-day Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) Partnership Summit 2014 being organized in Bangalore, capital of south Indian state of Karnataka, Azevedo said the “Bali job” is not over. The focus now shifts to the effective implementation of the decisions taken at the ministerial such that it leads to the conclusion of the Doha Round. Azevedo said the greater goal of the Bali ministerial was to improve the well being of millions of people around the world. He pointed out that the Bali Agreement came through at a time when the world faces high volatility in capital flows, high incidence of inflation in global economies, and monetary and fiscal imbalances in many regions. He said that the Trade Facilitation Agreement could bring about 10-15 per cent reduction in export and import transaction costs for countries, which will likely result in a significant expansion of world trade. Azevedo also pointed out that the ministerial focus on trade facilitation is expected to add $1 trillion to world trade volumes and create some 21 million jobs worldwide. He added that the Bali outcomes will also trigger greater investments in trade-related infrastructure. He observed that the agreements will also facilitate the realization of India-Africa bilateral trade target of $100 billion by 2015. Referring to the issue of non-binding rules in the WTO text, Azevedo said they are meant to be worked upon in the post-Bali work program. He acknowledged India’s key role in bringing about a consensus on food stockpiling in the developing countries to support their food security programs. Azevedo called for a holistic approach to WTO negotiations on agriculture, market access to non-agriculture goods, and services. The three-day event aims to highlight the investment opportunities in India. The Partnership Summit 2014 an unrivaled platform that would enable close examination of the partnerships and synergies that will spark the next phase of global growth and develop strong multi-country linkages and networks that assist the transformation and act as catalyst to enable growth at a global level./end