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News
How the Conference was organized back to top
The Eighth WTO Ministerial Conference opened on Thursday 15 December. Following addresses by the Chair, the Director-General and the Chair of the General Council, the Chairman proposed the adoption of the Agenda. The Plenary provided an opportunity for Ministers to make prepared statements in accordance with the List of Speakers.
The officers of the Conference were as follows: Chairman: H.E. Mr. Olusegun Olutoyin Aganga (Nigeria); Vice-Chairs: H.E. Mr. Johann Schneider-Ammann (Switzerland), H.E. Mr. Mustapa Mohamed (Malaysia) and H.E. Mr. Stephen Cadiz (Trinidad and Tobago).
The Conference approved the accessions of the Russian Federation, Samoa and Montenegro.
In parallel to the Plenary Session, Working Sessions took place on 16 and 17 December. The Working Sessions aimed at providing an interactive forum for Ministers, giving them a platform for discussion under three broad themes: “Importance of the Multilateral Trading System and the WTO”, “Trade and Development” and “Doha Development Agenda”.
In the final session on 17 December, Ministers adopted a number of decisions on intellectual property, electronic commerce, small economies, least developed countries’ accession, a services waiver for least developed countries, and trade policy reviews (explained in the briefing notes). The Chair concluded with a statement in two parts: a consensus statement on “elements for political guidance” and a factual summary of points that Ministers made in the meeting.
Programme back to top
Statements back to top
Background materials back to top
Official documents of the Geneva Ministerial
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Breakfast meeting for Ministers of least-developed countries back to top
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