On the basis of an invitation from Norway, trade ministers from around 30 WTO countries will be meeting in Oslo on Friday 21 and Saturday 22 October, along with the head of the WTO, Roberto Azevêdo, in an effort to develop a reflection on the "deliverables" for the 11th WTO ministerial conference in Buenos Aires, Argentina, in December 2017.
A Norwegian government note states that "the gathering of ministers in Oslo will be an opportunity to further pursue ministerial involvement. The aim is to focus on the multilateral trading system, and on the WTO, its role and future, with particular emphasis on its negotiating function. As hosts, we hope to facilitate an informal discussion, almost a brainstorming session, which will help us all to prepare for the 2017 ministerial conference and beyond."
The note adds: "The gathering in Oslo could help provide political guidance on setting the scope of negotiations on issues already being discussed in Geneva, as well as other themes the membership might be interested in. This could include indications about what members would like to achieve at MC 11, and what needs to be done to get there. We hope that the meeting in Oslo will inspire ministers to further pursue ideas that can form the basis for positions and proposals in the WTO."
European Commissioner for Trade Cecilia Malmström, who will be speaking on behalf of the EU, and ministers from around 20 WTO countries – South Africa, Argentina, Australia, Benin, Brazil, Canada, China, Colombia, US, India, Indonesia, Japan, Kenya, Lesotho, Morocco, Mexico, New Zealand, Pakistan, Russia, Rwanda, Singapore and Switzerland – are expected in Oslo, together with Norway's Trade Minister Monica Maeland.
The 10th WTO ministerial conference in Nairobi, Kenya, in December 2015 produced an agreement on an end to agricultural export subsidies and rules on equivalent measures, such as state trading enterprises and food aid, one of the three pillars in the agricultural section of the Doha Round (see EUROPE 11458).
Other issues included in the Nairobi decisions, involve trade ministers making a commitment to earlier participation in the negotiating process in an effort to help develop consensus for a positive result during the 11th WTO ministerial conference at the end of 2017.
The Oslo meeting will begin with lunch on Thursday, followed by round table discussion where trade ministers will debate how to strengthen the WTO and the multilateral negotiating process.
This will be followed by a working session focusing on ways of advancing economic growth through international trade – the underlying idea being to advance on key subjects in the Doha Round: agriculture (including domestic support, public stockholdings for food security purposes, the special safeguard mechanism, and cotton), industrial products and services, and other subjects such as fishing subsidies (for which the EU will put forward another proposal) (see EUROPE 11648), the regulation on services, e-commerce and SMEs.
During dinner, ministers will discuss ways of responding to the increasing opposition in public opinion to globalisation.
On Friday, two other working sessions will focus on regional trade agreements and ways of obtaining deliverables at Buenos Aires. (Original version in French by Emmanuel Hagry)