WTO Director-General calls on members to ‘walk the talk’

GENEVA: Reporting in her capacity as Chair of the Trade Negotiations Committee (TNC) on 15th July, the World Trade Organisation (WTO) Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala urged WTO members to adopt a spirit of compromise and engage in genuine negotiation in order to overcome differences and reach agreements on several key issues at a General Council meeting scheduled for 22nd-23rd July. The Director-General told members at the TNC meeting that while members were "a bit stuck" in many of these key issues, she was glad to hear an acknowledgement from heads of delegations retreat on 8th July on the need to truly restart negotiating at the WTO. "Now is the time to walk the talk and move from reflection and brainstorming to action," she declared. "To not only take, but to be prepared to give. To compromise, be flexible and open-minded. To reach out to others, to understand their concerns and find mutually agreeable ways forward." "There is engagement, but engagement is not necessarily negotiation," she added. ' If we are to remain resilient at the WTO and responsive in a changing world, then we must remain faithful to the organisation's negotiating DNA.' Source: Emirates News Agency