Doha: Qatar participated via videoconferencing in the roundtable meeting of their Excellencies Ministers of Commerce of the Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf (GCC) and the Director-General of the World Trade Organization (WTO) Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala.
The Undersecretary of the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, HE Sultan bin Rashid Al Khater represented Qatar in the meeting.
The meeting discussed the preparations for participation in the work of the 13th WTO Ministerial Conference (MC13) in the UAE during the first quarter of 2024, in addition to emphasizing the active role of the GCC states in the framework of ensuring the success of the conference and achieving of its goals.
In his speech at the meeting, the the Undersecretary of the Ministry of Commerce and Industry expressed his aspiration to establish a basis for cooperation and integration between the GCC states and WTO, work to confront the challenges and obstacles that impede international trade, and find effective solutions through creative initiatives that serve economic aspirations of all concerned countries.
Al Khater welcomed the positive results of the 12th Ministerial Conference, especially those related to fisheries subsidies, trade, health and food security, pointing out that these positive developments confirm the WTO importance as the global trade system cornerstone.
His Excellency stressed Qatar's support for all efforts aimed at activating the WTO agreement on fisheries subsidies in line with the first goal specified in the Sustainable Development Goals, especially supporting the fisheries sector as an important source for achieving food security in the GCC region, stressing the need to provide developing countries with the opportunity to develop this sector and reap its benefits in a way that contributes to supporting their economies.
The Undersecretary of the Ministry of Commerce and Industry expressed his hope that MC13 would achieve tangible results in supporting fisheries, e-commerce, facilitating investment, and other WTO-related fields.
The roundtable meeting dealt with three main topics, including the WTO agreement on fisheries subsidies and the GCC contribution to the agreement support fund. Also, it discussed the aspirations of the GCC states for MC13.
