The CPD hosted the International Conference titled Upcoming Ninth WTO Ministerial: Securing the LDCs Deliverables in Dhaka on October 25-26, 2013 to highlight interests of the Least Developed Countries (LDCs) in the context of the upcoming Ninth WTO Ministerial Conference (MC-9) in Bali on December 3-6, 2013.
The objective of the Conference was to review the state of negotiations in Geneva, discuss LDC concerns in this regard and identify the key deliverables in Bali with respect to a number of issues of heightened interest to the LDCs.
The issues discussed in two Panels and four thematic sessions included the Duty-Free, Quota-Free Market Access, Food Security and Cotton, Trade Facilitation, Operationalisation of Services Waiver for the LDCs, Systemic Issues and the Way Forward.
Inaugural Speeches:
By Ambassador Eloi Laourou, Deputy Permanent Representative, Embassy and Permanent Mission of Benin in Geneva
By Ambassador Steffen Smidt, Special Representative of Denmark to the WTO and Facilitator to the TNC Chairman on LDC issues for the WTO Bali Ministerial Conference
By Professor Mustafizur Rahman, Executive Director, CPD
Session Presentations:
Session I: Trade Facilitation, by Dr Mohammad A Razzaque, Adviser and Head of International Trade and Regional Cooperation Section, The Commonwealth, London
Session III: Rethinking US Development Policy: Getting to Yes on Expanded US Market Access for the Poorest Countries by Ms Kimberly Ann Elliott, Senior Fellow, Center for Global Development (CGD), Washington, D.C.
Session IV: The LDC Services Waiver by Mr Christophe Bellmann & Ms Anne-Katrin Pfister, International Centre for Trade and Sustainable Development (ICTSD), Geneva
The Conference brought together a select group of overseas participants who included WTO negotiators, Ambassadors and trade experts. They were joined by high level policymakers, trade experts, business and labour leaders, academics and representatives of various stakeholder groups from Bangladesh.
A (draft) Outcome Document was prepared by the CPD based on the rich discussions and the recommendations of the two-day International Conference. The Document articulates the key deliverables in Bali in specific areas of LDC interest which were discussed at the Conference. The Document will be subsequently finalised and widely disseminated among key stakeholders including WTO negotiators, LDC Ministers and important stakeholders. The Document will also be used to advance the cause of LDCs and for advocacy purposes at the various events in which senior CPD professionals will be participating in Bali during the MC-9.
The event’s co-organisers were The Commonwealth, London; Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung (FES), Bangladesh Office; International Centre for Trade and Sustainable Development (ICTSD), Geneva; IDEAS Centre, Geneva; South Asia Watch on Trade, Economics and Environment (SAWTEE), Kathmandu and Think Tank Initiative (TTI), Ottawa.
View Press reports on the Conference here
Conference Homepage: Upcoming Ninth WTO Ministerial: Securing the LDCs Deliverables