The statement underlines that “MC12 can offer a great opportunity to reinstate trust in the multilateral trading system and should be the starting point for modernizing and reforming the WTO to ensure it can play a role in addressing the challenges of the 21st century, including issues such as climate change and sustainability and in particular today, global food security.”

The statement results from discussions among parliamentarians from various countries within the framework of the Steering Committee of the Parliamentary Conference on the WTO. The Committee met on 13 June in Geneva to discuss the role of the WTO and the challenges facing world trade. It was briefed by the WTO Secretariat on the state of play in trade negotiations and on the topics for discussion at MC12.

The Parliamentary Conference is a joint endeavour of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) and the European Parliament (EP). The Steering Committee of the Parliamentary Conference meets twice a year in Geneva and Brussels and consists of around 30 parliamentarians from various countries.

The statement is available here.