Economic Reporter :
A meeting of parliamentarians specializing in international trade is expected to call for urgent action to implement multilateral agreements that benefit the developing world.
The Parliamentary Conference on the World Trade Organization (WTO), co-chaired by the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) and the European Parliament, takes place in Geneva on June 13-14.
The conference is expected to call for action on food security – another key issue for developing countries – and will stress that WTO rules should support efforts to combat hunger, according to a message received here from Geneva on Friday.
Saber Chowdhury is the current President of the Inter-Parliamentary Union.
The MPs will discuss a number of key issues including outstanding problems in the Doha Round – a major reform process aimed at lowering trade barriers and revising rules – which has a particular focus on improving the trading prospects of developing countries.
The proliferation of regional trade agreements and the gender perspective of trade as a vehicle for social progress will also be covered.
Other key areas for discussion include progress on implementing existing major WTO decisions, such as a decision on export competition reached in Nairobi last year, seen as the most significant agreement on agriculture since the WTO’s creation.
