3 September 1996
Press Release No. G/33/96
Bangkok (United Nations Information Services) -- The United Nations Economic Social and Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) is organizing an ESCAP/UNCTAD/UNDP Meeting of Senior Officials to Assist in Preparation for the first World Trade Organization (WTO) Ministerial Conference in Jakarta from 4 to 6 September 1996. The meeting, hosted by the Government of Indonesia, will provide an opportunity to exchange views on issues likely to be on the agenda of the Singapore Ministerial Conference (9-13 December 1996) and which undoubtedly would be of serious concern to the region's developing economies.
The agenda will include a review of the implementation of the multilateral agreements under the Uruguay Round, and an agenda for further liberalization in areas such as services, textiles and clothing, and agriculture. The issues of trade and environment, investment and competition policy, and the linkage of trade to social causes, all of which have raised several important concerns among the developing ESCAP countries will also be included in the agenda.
The meeting will also discuss trade and gender, which though not directly relevant to the Ministerial Conference, is an issue of growing importance.
The 3-day Meeting of Senior Officials to Assist in Preparation for the First WTO Ministerial Conference will be opened by Mr Adrianus Mooy, Executive Secretary of ESCAP on 4 September 1996 in Jakarta and Mr Anwarul Hoda, Deputy Director-General of WTO will deliver the keynote address. Around 25 member countries of ESCAP are expected to be be represented by senior trade policy officials. Several international and regional organizations such as
International Labour Organization, The World Bank, International Monetary Fund, Asian Development Bank, ASEAN secretariat and Forum Secretariat will also be participating.
Background
The Uruguay Round of multilateral trade negotiations reformed multilateral trade rules across several sectors of economic activity and established World Trade Organization (WTO) to provide a common institutional framework for the conduct of rule based trade relations among its members. The new multilateral trade regime is qualitatively different from the previous system under the General Agreement of Tariffs and Trade (GATT) not only because of the strengthening of GATT rules and disciplines, but because of its comprehensive coverage of trade in goods, trade in services, trade related intellectual property rights and investment.
Developing countries of the Asian and Pacific region have expressed varying degrees of concern on different aspects of implementation of the WTO agreement particularly in matters relating to agriculture, textiles and services. Although many of the challenges and difficulties encountered could perhaps be attributed to the pioneering nature of the agreements and their complexity, it is inevitable that their implementation will have a significant bearing on the trade prospects of both members and non-members of WTO from this region, given the almost universal reliance on outward oriented growth strategies.
The first WTO Ministerial Conference to be held at Singapore from 9 to 13 December 1996 will be a high profile global event and a major milestone in global economic multilateralism. It will review the progress of implementation of the WTO multilateral trade agreements and is also expected to establish the framework for the future evolution of negotiating processes in all vital areas of economic activity.
Trade negotiations are an extremely complex task and therefore, ESCAP has given priority attention to providing technical assistance to the region's developing countries in analyzing the policy implications of regional and global trading arrangements and developments. Particularly with regard to different aspects of the Uruguay Round Agreements, a number of symposia and seminars have been held over the past two years. Many of these activities implemented by ESCAP have been in collaboration with the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), but in future technical assistance activities related to the Uruguay Round agreements and their implementation active cooperation with WTO is also envisaged.
The background papers of the meeting may be obtained, upon request, from the Director, International Trade and Economic Cooperation Division, ESCAP or at the United Nations Information Services, UN Building, Rajdamnern Ave., Bangkok 10200. Tel: (66-2) 288 1234; Fax: (66-2) 288 1052.
UNIS