Catalog

Asian WTO Negotiators Hone Skills

The Doha Round promises to place development at the heart of negotiations - and the concerns of developing economies

By Tsukasa Maekawa ( tmaekawa@adb.org )
Senior External Relations Officer

TALKING TRADE ADB Vice-President Myoung-Ho Shin led the conference, during which negotiators worked to improve their understanding of WTO agreements

The incoming director general of the World Trade Organization (WTO), Supachai Panitchpakdi, told Asian trade negotiations he would strive to make the multilateral trading system more open to international society and "more friendly" to developing countries.

He made the keynote address at the High-Level Meeting on the WTO Trading System held in Bangkok from 31 July to 2 August. Dr. Supachai became WTO director on 1 September. The conference was organized by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and brought together trade negotiators from 32 of ADB's developing member countries to help them to better understand and implement WTO agreements.

The conference was ADB's first activity to support WTO training and capacity-building programs since the two organizations agreed earlier this year to enhance cooperation in the Asian and Pacific region, including issues of the Doha Development Agenda.

ADB Vice-President Myoung-Ho Shin, who led the conference, said the launch of the new trade round offers significant opportunities for economic growth in developing countries. "Trade is a major engine for growth. The experience of some developing economies in Asia has clearly demonstrated that open trade has helped them to achieve significant economic growth and poverty reduction."

The conference participants discussed the key agenda in the Doha Development Round and the experiences of the People's Republic of China and Taipei,China in negotiating WTO accession requirements. The Doha Round promises to place development at the heart of trade negotiations and take full account of developing countries' interests and concerns. ADB will organize a serious of intensive courses on trade and customs components on the WTO agreements. Currently, 20 ADB developing members have joined WTO and 12 are applying for membership.

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