Morocco chairs IDB meeting on challenges to WTO ministerial meeting
Regional-Morocco, Economics, 5/3/2003

Morocco chaired in Geneva Wednesday a meeting of the Islamic Development Bank (IDB) on the major challenges and stakes of the coming ministerial meeting of the World Trade Organization (WTO), to be held in Cancun (Mexico).

Speaking at the opening of the meeting, to wind up Friday, Morocco's ambassador to the UUUUuuuuunited Nations, Omar Hilale, described WTO's Conference of Doha (Qatar) as "historic" and "most ambitious" in the history of the organization and the GATT (General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade), for it succeeded in involving development in the talks and in the conference agenda.

The delegate said this success is due to the unity of developing countries and "the clear vision of their expectations," and the fact that the 9/11 attacks "compelled the international community to give a strong message of unity and solidarity."

Omar Hilale deplored that in the end, egoist considerations and mercantile logic came back on top and the Doha agreements were not respected in several areas including intellectual property and agriculture, only some months before Cancun.

Is the World Trade Organization able to achieve before Cancun what it could not do during the past 16 months? And will the Cancun conference be such a success, while industrial countries are repeating its agenda must not be overloaded? Hilale wondered, pointing to the "transatlantic" break due to the Iraq war, and the difficulties it may create.

Previous Stories:
  Morocco proposes ministerial conference on agricultural negotiations   (5/1/2003)
  Failure of WTO agricultural negotiations: morocco expresses disappointment of African group   (4/3/2003)
  Arab mediterranean countries sign FTA agreement   (1/14/2003)

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