Brussels, 13/05/2013 (Agence Europe) - Welcomed by the EU, the United States and Mexico - the runner up - the appointment of Roberto Azevedo from Brazil to succeed Pascal Lamy at the head of the WTO on 1 September, has aroused great expectations from the 159 countries that want to bring the Doha round to an end.
Net consensus. The ambassador of Brazil to the WTO, whose resignation was formally confirmed by the WTO General Council on 14 May, “was ahead at all stages of the selection”, the leader of the troika responsible for the selection of the candidates, the ambassador of Pakistan - Shahid Bashir - indicated at the announcement of Lamy's successor. The choice of Azevedo, who apparently received 93 of the 159 votes, was welcomed with great hopes - including those of exiting the stalemate of the Doha negotiations and strengthening the credibility of the WTO - “a common asset that all the countries need”, in his opinion. “From my point of view we are faced with the risk of losing a very valuable system - a system for which we have fought, in order to create it and to make it progress. The ministerial conference in Bali in December offers the chance of taking the first steps to save the system”, Azevedo stressed, calling on all members to reflect on the stakes. “What the WTO does has an impact on the life of everyone - even if they are not aware of it. At the moment, it's not about having what one wants but it's about saving what we have”, he warned. Azevedo also called on the member countries to “stay vigilant” in the face of a protectionism that has spread widely since the crisis in 2008.
A new start. The appointment of Azevedo has been widely welcomed both in the developing and developed worlds. The South African minister for trade, Rob Davies, whose country brought sizeable support to Azevedo's victory (together with the large emerging economies, the BRICs - South Africa, Brazil, China, India and Russia), hailed “a new start”. Speaking through its acting trade representative, Demetrios Marantis, the USA gave assurances that it was “looking forward” to working with Azevedo, so as “to build a solid and useful institution”. The comments were similar from Brussels, where European Commissioner for Trade Karel De Gucht welcomed Azevedo's appointment both for the future of the organisation itself and for the outcome of the Doha round. “A strong WTO requires a strong director general”, De Gucht said on Wednesday, certain that Azevedo has the qualities needed to break the stalemate of the Doha round. “In this respect, a critical first step will be the next WTO ministerial conference (…). A successful outcome in Bali will send an important signal to the world of the WTO's crucial role, as well as the importance of the multilateral trading system it represents (…) The new WTO director general can count on my full support to make this ministerial meeting a success”, De Gucht added. Among the emerging countries, China welcomed Azevedo's appointment as “something worth being celebrated”. Mexico, represented in the finals by its former minister for trade, Herminio Blanco, hailed “a success for the Latin-American region and a positive step for the WTO”. The current head, Pascal Lamy, considered that this appointment shows “(the capacity of) the organisation to be transformed according to the big developments of the global economy”. (EH/transl.fl)