2024-03-01 22:06:49
Yesterday, at the conclusion of the organization’s thirteenth Ministerial Conference, which was held in Abu Dhabi with the participation of 180 delegations from the organization’s members and observers as observers, the World Trade Organization announced the extension of the moratorium on imposing customs duties on electronic commerce until the organization’s fourteenth Ministerial Conference is held in 2026.
This decision is an important achievement of the Ministerial Conference, which witnessed extensive negotiations on a number of key issues that shape the future of global trade.
The World Trade Organization confirmed that the European Union will provide one million euros to support business knowledge in developing economies and least developed countries.
A statement – published by the organization on its official website – explained that the European Union will contribute an amount of one million euros (regarding 950,000 Swiss francs) during the period 2024-2025 to finance training programs for government officials from developing economies.
The statement explained that the financial contribution will help the World Trade Organization’s Global Trust Fund to support developing economies, increase their expertise and enhance their skills for the effective implementation of WTO trade rules.
Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Director-General of the World Trade Organization, thanked the European Union for its support of the WTO’s capacity-building programs aimed at equipping policymakers in developing economies with strong trade-related skills.
During the Thirteenth Ministerial Conference of the World Trade Organization, Valdis Dombrovskis, Executive Vice-President of the European Commission, affirmed the European Union’s commitment to the World Trade Organization to continue supporting developing countries in the multilateral trading system.
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Dr. Mahmoud Mohieldin, Executive Director of the International Monetary Fund, confirmed in statements to Al-Bayan: The WTO meetings have achieved the required communication between trade and investment opportunities, financing climate action, and sustainable development, which are important topics to which job opportunities are linked.
He explained that he reviewed – during his participation in one of the sessions – 10 important recommendations, ranging from facilitating the movement of trade, matching trade policies with industrial policies, and that there be room for qualification, including for small and medium enterprises, to reduce their carbon footprint, and support exchange in information technology,” he noted. The countries of the South now have better advantages for development, innovation, and choosing the technology that suits them at a lower cost, with the presence of advanced industrial infrastructure.
The Executive Director of the International Monetary Fund added that the African continent is now putting itself on the map of investment and trade and not just accepting support, grants and donations, and this is how Africa should be.
Nour Al Tamimi, a member of the Abu Dhabi Chamber’s Board of Directors, said during one of the conference sessions: “We at the Abu Dhabi Chamber have been committed to supporting economic growth and social progress in Africa since 1988,” noting that African countries have enormous potential and diverse natural and cultural resources, and are home to more than 1.3 million African countries. One billion people.
She continued: We were keen to sign 18 international memorandums of understanding with various African chambers of commerce in 12 countries over the past years, as we believe that trade and investment are major drivers of sustainable development.
She stressed, “Africa represents a promising economic environment, as it provides many opportunities to establish partnerships with various international companies. According to data issued by the Ministry of Economy, the United Arab Emirates has investments in 18 African countries.
In addition, the UAE has owned regarding 71 investment projects in Africa since 2021 with a total value estimated at $5.64 billion, ranking fourth among the largest investors in Africa.”
Charity
The activities of the Thirteenth Ministerial Conference of the World Trade Organization in Abu Dhabi witnessed many sessions that addressed important issues, as the Ministry of Economy, in cooperation with Crescent Enterprises, organized a panel discussion entitled “Enhancing Resilience and Inclusion: The Role of Strategic Philanthropy in Global Trade.”
The session discussed the role of strategic philanthropy in facilitating commercial operations across the global trade system.
Open trade
Juma Muhammad Al-Kait, Assistant Undersecretary for Foreign Trade Affairs at the Ministry of Economy, confirmed that there is a global consensus that trade, not aid, is the best path to development, and that opening the economy to trade and investment is sufficient to promote growth.
Tushar Singhvi, Executive Vice President of Crescent Enterprises, stressed the importance of cooperation between sectors to effectively deal with the problem of environmental degradation and the lack of inclusiveness, by giving strategic philanthropies the opportunity to participate in discussions regarding global trade.
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