South African Trade and Industry Minister Rob Davies has attended an informal meeting of World Trade Organisation (WTO) ministers in France.
“The aim of the informal gathering of WTO ministers is to exchange views and ideas on possible outcomes for the 12th WTO Ministerial Conference (MC12) that will take place in June 2020 in Kazakhstan.
“The informal gathering will bring together ministers from developed and developing countries from all the different regions,” the Ministry of Trade and Industry said on Thursday.
Davies attended Thursday’s meeting on the sidelines of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Ministerial Council Meeting which kicked of on Wednesday.
The WTO ministers’ informal meeting is discussing, in particular, WTO reforms and negotiating outcomes in preparation for MC12, as well as how to narrow the differences in the fishery subsidies negotiations, according to the ministry.
“Our view is that the reform of the WTO should fundamentally be about reform for development and inclusivity,” Davies said.
The MC12 is the topmost decision-making body of the WTO and meets every two years. The last WTO MC meeting took place in December 2017 in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
NM/as/APA