Australian Permanent Mission to the World Trade Organization
Press Statement 29 November 2013
Australia and more than 100 other WTO Members have issued the following statement underlining their support for the Director General’s efforts to finalise the current WTO negotiating package by 6 December 2013.
“The overwhelming majority of WTO Members gave a very clear message of support to the Director-General at the 26 November General Council meeting. We must continue efforts to finalise the package by 6 December 2013.
We support any effort necessary to achieve a positive outcome at the Bali Ministerial on a package of trade facilitation, agriculture and development and Least Developed Country issues. We fully support further efforts by the Director-General, recognising how close we are to success, and recognising that Bali is a pivotal moment for the future of the negotiating arm of the multilateral trading system.”
This statement is jointly issued by:
Australia, Canada, Chile, Chinese Taipei, Colombia, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Hong Kong China, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Mexico, New Zealand, Norway, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Republic of Korea, The Russian Federation, Switzerland, Uruguay; and the following groups of WTO Members:
Brunei Darussalam on behalf of Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Group; Egypt on behalf of the Arab Group; Jamaica on behalf of the African, Caribbean and Pacific countries Group; Morocco on behalf of the African Group, and;
Solomon Islands on behalf of the Least Developed Countries Group.