These discussions have focussed principally on the smooth launch of
negotiations, maintaining Ministerial involvement in the work
programme and the co-ordinated programme of capacity building and
technical assistance for developing countries.
In
recent days Mr. Moore has met five ministers; Mexican Secretary for
the Economy Luis Ernesto Derbez, South Korean Trade Minister Hwang
Doo-Yun, European Union Trade Commissioner Pascal Lamy, Canadian
Minister of Commerce Pierre Pettigrew and U.S. Trade Representative
Robert Zoellick. He will also be meeting senior officials from India,
Japan and Pakistan in the coming days. The Director-General will have
contact with more ministers as they come through Geneva in the coming
weeks and will meet a dozen or more ministers when he attends the
World Economic Forum meeting in New York next week.
The
Director-General and several senior Secretariat staff met with Mr.
Derbez and his team on 20 January to brief the Minister on various
elements involved in hosting a Ministerial Conference. At the General
Council meeting on 19-20 December, Member Governments agreed that
Mexico would host the 5th Ministerial Conference in 2003. Mr. Derbez
will be the conference chairman and he came to Geneva to begin the
process of preparation for that meeting. Mr. Derbez also took the
opportunity to meet with delegations, regional groups and
representatives from non-governmental organizations.
“Minister
Derbez and his team have begun preparing for this Ministerial
Conference nearly two years in advance of the meeting. This has never
happened before. By ensuring adequate time for preparation, Member
Governments have done a great service to the WTO,” Mr. Moore said.
Mr.
Moore said it was vital that the Trade Negotiations Committee, which
holds its first meeting on 28 January, gets off to a good start.
Failure to ensure a sound negotiating structure or to choose committee
chairpersons soon would result in delays that cannot be afforded if
WTO Member Governments are to conclude the Doha Development Agenda
negotiations by the 1 January 2005 deadline mandated at the
Ministerial Conference.
“We
have done well since Doha in choosing a Ministerial Conference venue,
in approving a 6.75% increase in our budget and in effectively
re-deploying Secretariat staff to better implement the instructions
given by Ministers. Now Member Governments have to get the
negotiations off to a good start. If they do this, we can meet the
2005 deadline, but delays at the beginning over process and procedures
will make it very difficult to carry out the wishes of Ministers,”
he said.
Capacity
building and technical co-operation were also discussed in each
meeting. The 2002 budget approved in December will enable the WTO to
increase by 80% its expenditure this year on technical assistance and
to double its capacity at the Training Institute.
“It
is vitally important that we work together with other international
organizations to ensure an efficient allocation of precious resources.
Through a sound programme of coherence international organizations can
leverage funds more effectively. We do not want an overlap in our
technical co-operation efforts,” Mr. Moore said.
The
Director-General said next month there would be a pledging conference
of countries donating to the Doha Development Agenda Global Trust
Fund.
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