Chairman's Introductory Remarks

I would like to welcome everyone to this informal meeting of the TNC.

As indicated in my fax to you of 14 September, I thought it timely, in light of the important developments in recent weeks regarding the Doha Development Agenda negotiations and the next steps in the DDA over the coming few months, to report to you and seek your views.

In addition, as you know, I have been asked by G20 leaders to report to them in Pittsburgh this week on progress towards the agreed goal of concluding the Round next year. This should not just be my report alone, but one which also reflects the views of the membership represented here in the central body of the Round.

First, let me update you all on events since our last meeting.

Since we last met at the end of July, and in response to the call from leaders at the L'Aquila Summit that Ministers in charge of trade explore all avenues for direct engagement with the WTO and meet prior to the Pittsburgh Summit, India hosted an informal meeting of Ministers in New Delhi on 3-4 September. This initiative was very welcome. It was clear by the summer break that momentum was flagging and that the pace of work was putting into question the goal of concluding the Round next year.

At New Delhi, Ministers from over 35 countries, representing a broad spectrum of the WTO's membership, pledged to conclude the Round by 2010. They stressed that reinforcing the multilateral trading system through the conclusion of the Doha Round was essential in the context of the current economic crisis. They acknowledged that the political signals emanating from previous meeting had not translated into action in Geneva. That mere reaffirmation of commitment was not enough unless this was converted into effective instructions to negotiators to re-engage so that the Round could be concluded in 2010.

In order to step up the pace of the negotiations they agreed that Senior Officials should meet in Geneva from 14 September to draw up a process of engagement for the next 2-3 months and to work with the Chairs of the Negotiating Groups to contribute to preparing an overall agenda of engagement.

Following up specifically on the meeting in New Delhi, a number of capital-based Senior Officials have been in Geneva this past week. They have been working in the Negotiating Groups and with the Chairs both to develop more specific plans for the work ahead both in agriculture and NAMA as well as on the rest of the areas under negotiation and to advance the substantive negotiations on key outstanding issues.

Last week's activity was centred on the negotiating Groups, where the work was stimulated by the presence of Senior officials. Their regular presence in Geneva from now on will be an important factor in joining up the dots of the negotiation and making sure that that political commitment leads to action.

As I advised delegations by fax, I also held two Green Room meetings, one on Tuesday and one on Friday. The purpose of these meetings was to bring Senior Officials face to face with the NG Chairs and their priorities and work programmes. I have, for my part, worked with the Chairs to develop and synchronise their plans, and they have, of course, also consulted their groups.

The result of all this activity is before you today in the form of an intensive, structured programme for work over the next three months with the participation of Senior Officials each month (19 to 23 October; 23 to 27 November and 14 to 16 December). This programme will also be available on our web site from 10 a.m. this morning. I would also like to stress that I will be holding regular TNC meetings throughout the process for transparency purposes.

This is what Ministers in Delhi asked us for. It is also what the objective needs of the negotiating process require if we are to be back on track — and stay on track — to conclude next year. It is an important step, and I appreciate the effort and co-operation that has gone into it.

Let us be under no illusions. As many of you indicated at our last TNC meeting in July, a work programme in itself, as necessary as it may be, will not deliver a substantive result. It is insufficient to lead to a result. This can only come from political engagement and from the hard bargaining on the few remaining issues that we have yet to see.

At this stage I remain cautious in my forecast. It would be premature for me to predict today that the necessary political engagement will in fact take place over the next three months. We should be in a position to judge by December whether or not this has happened. Clearly the chances of concluding in 2010 depend very much on the answer to that question. It depends on your engagement at all levels, multilaterally, plurilaterally and bilaterally, starting now. I count on you all to pass the message to your capitals that we need a positive answer if the objective they have set is to be fulfilled.

This is also the message that I will be taking to the G20 leaders in Pittsburgh. I will tell them, in a nutshell, that we in Geneva have done what they asked us to do. They now have the road mapped out, but they still have to walk it.

Leadership is about responsibility. Failure to act — not just in Pittsburgh, but also here in Geneva — will be hard felt by the entire international community at this time of economic crisis. We all know that keeping trade open is crucial for many Members to exit the crisis. And 60 years of experience have told us that the best way to keep trade open is to keep opening trade, while, of course, creating the necessary level playing field with rules.

The G20 must show this leadership and send the right signal, and there must be the appropriate follow-up on the ground here in Geneva.

At a time when there is much talk in town about the future of “Geneva International”, the truth is that two organisations are in dire need of getting their accelerator working again: the CERN and its Large Electron Collider and the WTO!