|
||
|
TWN
Info Service on WTO and Trade Issues (Mar26/17) Geneva, 16 Mar (D. Ravi Kanth) — With less than ten days to go before the World Trade Organization’s 14th Ministerial Conference (MC14) in Yaounde, Cameroon, concerns are mounting about Yaounde’s readiness to host the event, despite the Organisation’s insistence that arrangements remain firmly on track. The WTO on 14 March strongly rejected a 13 March report by Africa Intelligence claiming that officials were “quietly preparing” to move the conference from Cameroon to Geneva. In a statement, the WTO said the report was “inaccurate and creates a misleading impression” of the preparations for the ministerial conference scheduled for 26-29 March. The Africa Intelligence report had suggested that logistical and infrastructure delays – including incomplete hotel renovations, transport constraints, and visa challenges – had spurred contingency discussions at WTO headquarters earlier this month. It also noted that while Cameroon’s Foreign Affairs and Trade Ministers insisted at an 11 March press briefing that the country was “three-quarters of the way ready,” the WTO had agreed “in principle” to retain Geneva as a backup venue should further problems arise. At the General Council meeting last week, WTO Director-General Ms. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala reaffirmed that “arrangements for MC14 in Yaounde remain unchanged.” She emphasized that the WTO Secretariat continues to work closely with Cameroonian authorities to ensure the successful organisation of the meeting – only the second ministerial conference ever to be hosted on African soil, following MC10 in Nairobi, Kenya in December 2015. To support those efforts, the WTO Secretariat has reportedly deployed around 150 staff to bolster logistics, IT systems, and document-handling capacities at the main conference venue. Yet, with the state-of-play package still incomplete, a lack of clarity on the transmission of drafts to ministers, and continuing deep divisions – including the United States’ opposition at the General Council to the reform facilitator’s proposed package – doubts are growing about the meeting’s substance and timing, said several trade envoys, who asked not to be quoted. The backdrop of the escalating conflict in the Middle East and attendant travel disruptions, an uncertain programme for ministerial sessions and seemingly chaotic breakout groups, and an underwhelming agenda have further deepened anxiety in Geneva, said a trade envoy, who asked not to be quoted. Emerging reports that several trade ministers may not travel to Yaounde have added to the unease, the envoy said. Amid this, quiet conversations are now emerging among delegations about whether a short postponement might be necessary to allow both the host nation and the WTO membership to stabilize the preparations and ensure that ministers meet when there is something more substantive on the table. +
|
||
