FG expresses commitment to conclusion of Doha Agenda negotiations

The Federal Government says it is committed to a speedy conclusion of the on-going negotiations on the Doha Development Agenda (DDA). Mr Samuel Ortom, the Minister of State for Industry, Trade and Investment, stated this when Mr Herminio Blanco, Mexico’s Minister of Trade and Industry, paid him a courtesy visit in Abuja.

Ortom stressed the need for the agenda negotiations to be concluded without further delay by member countries of the World Trade Organisation (WTO). DDA is the latest round of trade negotiations among the WTO membership.
Its aim, according to the WTO website, is to achieve major reform of the international trading system through the introduction of lower trade barriers and revised trade rules. The DDA work programme covers about 20 areas of trade, and is specifically targeted at improving the trading prospects of developing countries. The minister urged the WTO to remain credible and relevant by rising to the challenges facing it.

He called on Mexico and Nigeria to work together on matters concerning WTO and to also improve bilateral trade relations between both countries. According to him, the process of selecting the next WTO Director-General should be credible so as to enthrone the best candidate with the competence to address the challenges facing the body. Ortom expressed happiness at the emergence of a number of candidates from the developing countries, and said that it was an indication of their rising profile in the organisation.

He wished Blanco, who is a candidate for the WTO director-general, well. Earlier, Blanco had said he was in Nigeria to seek the country’s support for his candidacy in the election billed for May 31, and thanked the minister for the warm reception. The WTO director-general is chosen by 159 members of the organisation. Like all WTO decisions, the aim is to reach a consensus through a process of extensive consultations